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FROliT  THE  IMPi-    COLLE  CTI  ON  tO^WER  BELVIDEBX  ,  vn-.>:HA  . 


THE 
COURT    AND    REIGN 

OF 

FRANCIS  THE  FIRST 

KING    OF    FRANCE 


*»MJJAiw  atAiiarovw* 


DESIGNED  BY  LEGROS  ^ENGRAVED  BY  JOS.  BRCWTT,  AFTER  THE   FORTRAIT   BY  TITIAT 


THE 


COURT  AND    REIGN 


OF 


FRANCIS  THE  FIRST 


iling  of  jFrance 


BY 


JULIA    PARDOE 

AUTHOR   OF   'LOUIS   XIV.'    'THE   CITY   OF   THE   SULTAN,'    ETC. 


IN    THREE   VOLUMES 
VOL.  I 


NEW   YORK 
SCRIBNER    AND   WELFORD 

1887 


Printed  by  R.  &  R.  Clakic,  Edinburgh 


TO 

MY  BELOVED    FATHER 

THE    PROTECTOR    OF    MY    INFANCY 
THE   GUIDE   OF   MY   GIRLHOOD 

AND 

THE    FRIEND    OF    MY    RIPER    YEARS 

%\jtzz  ISalvivxts 

ARE   VERY    AFFECTIONATELY 
INSCRIBED 


PREFACE 


In  attempting  a  record  of  the  Court  and  Reign  of  Francis  I. 
I  did  not  for  a  moment  seek  to  blind  myself  to  the  extreme 
difficulty  of  the  task  which  I  was  about  to  undertake. 
The  successor  of  Louis  XII.  has  been  so  universally 
quoted  as  the  most  chivalrous  monarch  who  ever  filled  an 
European  throne,  that  those  who  are  only  superficially 
acquainted  with  his  history  cannot  fail  to  anticipate  a  suc- 
cession of  brilliant  actions,  generous  self-sacrifices,  refined 
gallantries,  and  noble  feats  of  arms.  Time  and  truth  have, 
however,  alike  tended  to  place  his  character  in  a  less  ele- 
vated point  of  view  ;  and  the  truth  may  well  be  said  to 
have  been  born  of  time,  for  it  is  only  of  late  years  that 
any  French  historian  has  been  permitted  to  allow  that  a 
sovereign  of  France  could  err. 

•;Who  that  is  acquainted  with  the  anecdote  can  have 
forgotten  the  caution  given  by  the  Cardinal  de  Richelieu 
to  an  honest  and  conscientious  chronicler,  whose  zeal  had 
betrayed  him  into  sundry  animadversions  on  a  crowned 
head  long  laid  in  the  royal  mausoleum  of  St.  Denis  ? 

"  Sir,"  said  the  minister  sternly  to  the  scholar,  whom  he 
had  summoned  to  his  presence,  "you  must  revise  your 
work.  You  have  been  guilty  of  treason  ;  you  have  dared 
to  vilify  a  king." 

"  I  have  only  recorded  well-authenticated  facts,  your 
eminence." 


viii  PREFACE 

"  Perhaps  so ;  but  those  facts  were  not  your  property. 
The  person  and  fame  of  a  monarch  are  alike  sacred." 

"  Monseigneiiv  will  permit  me  to  remind  him  that  Louis 
XI.  has  been  dead  two  centuries." 

"And  what  of  that,  sir?"  retorted  the  cardinal  sharply. 
"  Understand  that  it  is  treason  to  discuss  the  actions  of  a 
king  who  has  only  been  dead  two  centuries." 

Upon  the  principle  here  educed  most  of  the  ancient 
French  historians  appear  to  have  scrupulously  acted  ;  and 
thus  it  is  only  by  a  reference  to  the  more  confidential 
records  and  correspondence  of  the  period  that  a  modern 
writer  can  hope  to  arrive  at  a  just  estimate  of  the  charac- 
ter and  motives  of  the  sovereign  whom  he  seeks  to  portray 
"  in  his  habit  as  he  lived." 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  much  of  the  prestige 
which  attaches  to  the  name  of  Francis  I.  may  be  attributed 
to  this  circumstance.  To  the  great  mass  of  readers,  alike 
French  and  English,  he  is  necessarily  known  only  through 
the  medium  of  the  old  and  well-tutored  chroniclers,  or 
rather,  through  the  modern  histories  which  have  been 
compiled  exclusively  upon  their  authority ;  and  thus, 
thanks  to  the  timid  and  time-serving  policy  of  those 
writers,  the  "  divinity  that  doth  hedge  a  king "  has  pro- 
tected his  renown  throughout  the  lapse  of  centuries.  For 
this  impunity  Francis  I.  is  consequently  mainly  indebted 
to  the  scarcity  of  familiar  chronicles  during  an  age  in 
which,  the  whole  of  Europe  being  almost  perpetually  in  a 
state  of  warfare,  few  cared  to  register  the  mere  domestic 
events  of  the  period.  Fortunately,  however,  for  the  after- 
labourers  in  the  same  vineyard,  the  love  of  Court  gossip 
was  not  altogether  extinct,  and  thus  some  glimpses  are 
afforded  of  the  man  as  well  as  of  the  monarch. 

It  was  with  the  witty  and  accomplished  Marguerite  de 
Valois,  his  sister,  that  the  taste  originated  for  perpetuating 


PREFACE  ix 

by  the  pen  the  current  of  passing  circumstances  ;  and  it  is 
to  her  example  that  posterity  is  indebted  for  that  courtly 
cacoethes  scribendi  by  which  the  annals  of  subsequent  reigns 
have  been  so  greatly  enriched. 

In  this  paucity  of  authentic  detail  has  consisted,  as  I 
was  aware  that  it  must  do,  the  great  difficulty  of  my  task ; 
but,  as  I  resolved  not  to  insert  a  single  incident  into  the 
work  for  which  I  had  not  competent  authority,  the  Court 
scenes  scattered  through  the  following  pages  may  all  be 
accepted  as  facts,  and  the  reader  will  be  enabled  from 
them  to  form  his  own  estimate  of  the  claim  of  Francis  I. 
to  be  considered  as  the  chivalric  monarch  par  excellence. 
The  glorious  day  of  Marignano  saw  the  rising,  and  that  of 
Pavia  the  setting  of  his  fame  as  a  soldier  ;  so  true  it  is 
that  the  prowess  of  the  man  was  shamed  by  that  of  the 
boy.  The  early  and  unregretted  death  of  one  of  his 
neglected  queens,  and  the  heart-broken  endurance  of  the 
other,  contrasted  with  the  unbounded  influence  of  his  first 
favourite,  and  the  insolent  arrogance  of  his  second,  will 
sufficiently  demonstrate  his  character  as  a  husband.  His 
open  and  illegal  oppression  of  an  over-taxed  and  suffering 
people,  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  an  extortionate  and  licen- 
tious Court,  will  suffice  to  disclose  his  value  as  a  monarch  ; 
while  the  reckless  indifference  with  which  he  falsified  his 
political  pledges,  abandoned  his  allies  in  their  extremity 
in  order  to  further  his  own  interests,  and  sacrificed  the 
welfare  of  his  kingdom  and  the  safety  of  his  armies  to  his 
own  puerile  vanity,  will  complete  a  picture  by  no  means 
calculated  to  elicit  one  regret  that  his  reign  was  not  pro- 
longed. 

Despite  this  drawback,  however,  the  period  was  one  of 
great  and  absorbing  interest.  The  fierce  and  continual 
struggle  for  power  between  Francis  and  Charles  V.;  the 
well-earned  renown  of  the  several  generals  on  both  sides  j 


X  PREFACE 

the  names  of  the  Connetable  Due  de  Bourbon,  Bayard, 
Pescara,  Da  Leyva,  Doria,  Gaston  de  Foix,  Lautrec,  and  a 
host  of  others  equally  brave  ;  the  bright  galaxy  of  beauty 
which  adorned  the  Court — the  fair  and  gentle  Madame  de 
Chateaubriand,  the  haughty  and  voluptuous  Duchesse 
d'Etampes,  the  magnificent  Diane  de  Poitiers,  the  mature, 
but  still  attractive  Louise  de  Savoie,  the  strong-minded 
and  intellectual  Marguerite  de  Valois,  and  the  beautiful 
Catherine  de'  Medici, — all  combine  to  invest  the  age  with 
a  charm  and  a  romance  totally  independent  of  the  personal 
character  of  the  monarch  ;  while  the  fact  of  its  having 
been  the  period  of  the  mission  of  Luther,  and  the  crown- 
ing work  of  the  Reformation,  suffices  of  itself  to  render 
it  the  greatest  landmark  on  the  whole  highway  of  history. 

Never,  perhaps,  did  the  reign  of  any  European  sove- 
reign present  so  many  and  such  varying  phases.  A  con- 
test for  empire,  a  captive  monarch,  a  female  regency,  and 
a  religious  war ;  the  poisoned  bowl  and  the  burning  pile 
alike  doing  their  work  of  death  amid  scenes  of  uncalculat- 
ing  splendour  and  unbridled  dissipation  ;  the  atrocities  of 
bigotry  and  intolerance,  blent  with  the  most  unblushing 
licentiousness  and  the  most  undisguised  profligacy; — such 
are  the  materials  offered  to  the  student  by  the  times  of 
Francis  I. 

Here,  as  was  the  case  in  a  former  work,  I  have  com- 
menced my  volumes  by  a  brief  glance  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  previous  reign  ;  and,  although  censured  by  one  of  my 
critics  upon  that  occasion  for  the  introduction  of  retrospec- 
tive matter,  I  have  in  this  instance  advisedly  pursued  the 
same  system,  from  a  conviction  that  the  book  must  fall 
into  the  hands  of  many  individuals  who,  from  want  of 
time  or  opportunity,  must  necessarily  be  unacquainted  with 
the  precise  position  of  the  French  nation  on  the  accession 
of  Francis   I.      To  the  historical  student  this  preliminary 


PREFACE  xi 

sketch  will  be,  of  course,  supererogatory ;  but  as  this  is  not 
a  period  at  which  any  author  can  feel  justified  in  writing 
only  for  a  class,  I  believe  that  a  succinct  narrative  of  pre- 
ceding events  will  tend  to  render  the  work  more  generally 
acceptable  ;  and  I  have,  consequently,  not  suffered  myself 
to  be  deterred  from  acting  upon  that  conviction.  The 
scholar  will  therefore  forgive  me  if,  in  seeking  to  augment 
the  gratification  of  the  less  learned  reader,  I  have  dwelt 
for  a  time  upon  persons  and  events  which,  although  living 
and  occurring  before  he  ascended  the  French  throne,  were 
destined  to  exert  a  powerful  influence  over  the  Court  and 
reign  of  Francis  himself 


The  Shrubbery, 

northfleet,  kent. 


Tm. 


C^^^-.^^^^'^^^^^'y^^^ 


THE    AUTHOR 

of  the  following  work,  Julia  S.  H.  Pardoe,  was  the 
second  daughter  of  Major  Thomas  Pardoe  of  the 
Royal  Waggon  Train  (the  precursor  of  the  Transport 
Corps) — an  able  officer,  who,  after  serving  with  dis- 
tinction and  winning  the  confidence  and  affection  of 
the  men  he  led  in  the  Peninsular  campaign  and  on 
the  field  of  Waterloo,  retired  from  active  service. 
His  family  was  said  to  be  of  Spanish  extraction. 

Miss  Pardoe  was  born  at  Beverley,  in  Yorkshire, 
in  1806,  and  at  an  early  age  manifested  the  literary 
tastes  and  talents  which  afterwards  distinguished  her. 
Her  first  work  was  a  volume  of  Poems,  dedicated  to 
her  uncle.  Captain  William  Pardoe  of  the  Royal 
Navy,  published  when  she  was  only  thirteen  years 
old  and  was  followed  in  a  few  years  by  an  historical 
romance  of  the  time  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
called  Lord  Morcas  of  Hereward.  Being  recom- 
mended, on  account  of  consumptive  symptoms,  to 
seek  a  warmer  climate,  Miss  Pardoe  spent  fifteen 
months  abroad,  and  embodied  her  observations  on 
her  return  to  England  in  Traits  and  Traditions  of 
Portugal  (dedicated  to  H.R.H.  Princess  Augusta, 

VOL.  I  2 


THE  AUTHOR 


who  took  a  warm  interest  in  the  young  authoress), 
the  first  of  her  works  to  attract  much  notice.  Written 
in  early  youth  and  amidst  the  brilliant  scenes  it 
described,  it  had  the  charm  of  freshness  and  en- 
thusiasm, and  it  is  not  surprising  that  a  second 
edition  was  quickly  called  for. 

In  1835  Julia  Pardoe  accompanied  her  father  to 
Constantinople,  and  although  a  frightful  visitation  of 
cholera  raged  there  during  her  visit,  her  sojourn  in 
the  East  appears  to  have  more  than  realised  her 
most  sanguine  expectations.  "When,"  she  says, 
"  favoured  by  circumstances  which  seemed  to  shape 
themselves  to  my  wishes  in  a  manner  to  make  me 
doubt  whether  the  spells  of  fairyland  were  indeed 
all  broken,  I  was  enabled  to  penetrate  to  the  very 
centre  of  Turkish  society,  and  to  domesticate  myself 
both  with  princes  and  peasants,  I  found  that  the 
fallacies  which  had  evaporated  would  have  been  but 
a  sorry  exchange  for  the  reality  that  remained,  and  I 
gave  the  advantage  to  the  fact  over  the  anticipation."^ 

Half  a  century  ago  a  lady's  narrative  of  Eastern 
travel  was  much  more  novel  and  noticeable  than  it 
would  now  be,  and  probably  no  English  authoress 
since  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu  had  been  so 
intimately  acquainted  with  Turkish  life  as  Miss 
Pardoe.  Her  City  of  the  Sultan,  Beauties  of  the 
Bosphorus,  and  Romance  of  the  Haretn,  accordingly 
became  deservedly  popular,  especially  the  two  former, 
which  were  profusely  and  beautifully  illustrated  ;  and 

1  New  introduction  to  an  edition  of  the  Beauties  of  the  Bosphorus, 
published  about  the  time  of  the  Crimean  War. 


THE  AUTHOR 


Miss  Pardee  was  induced  in  1838  to  publish  a  series 
of  letters  describing  the  earlier  part  of  her  journey 
to  the  East,  under  the  title  of  The  River  and  the 
Desert:  or,  Recollections  of  the  Rhine  and  the  Char- 
treuse. A  tour  through  the  Austrian  empire  with 
her  family  enabled  her  to  collect  the  materials  for 
The  City  of  the  Magyar:  or,  Hungary  and  its  Insti- 
tutions, issued  in  1840,  remarkable  at  that  time  for 
its  ample  statistics  and  careful  research,  and  eliciting 
from  one  of  her  critics  the  acknowledgment  that, 
"  without  the  sacrifice  of  truth  or  utility,  she  gave 
to  the  world  a  work  which  possessed  all  the  charm 
and  excitement  of  a  romance."  The  same  country 
inspired  her  Hungarian  Castle,  preceded  and  followed 
by  nine  or  ten  other  novels  popular  in  their  day  ;  but 
it  was  not  until  1847  that  Miss  Pardoe  produced  the 
first  of  those  historical  works  on  which  her  fame 
principally  rests.  This  was  Louis  the  Fourteenth:  or, 
the  Court  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  which,  it  has 
been  justly  remarked,  combines  "the  lively  spirit  of 
a  French  biography  with  a  well-defined  picture  of  an 
historical  epoch."  It  was  followed  by  The  Court 
and  Reign  of  Francis  the  First,  and  The  Life  of 
Marie  de  Medici,  and  a  residence  in  France  was 
recorded  in  Pilgrimages  in  Paris, 

Her  health  having  suffered  from  long-continued 
study  and  perseverance  in  literary  work.  Miss  Pardoe 
left  London  to  reside  with  her  parents  in  Kent,  still 
occasionally  writing  fiction,  and  contributing  to  maga-  V 
zines.  Her  industrious  and  successful  literary  career 
was  brought  to  a  close  in  1862,  when,  after  suffering 


THE  AUTHOR 


from  insomnia,  she  died  at  Upper  Montagu  Street 
on  Wednesday  26th  November.  [The  portrait 
accompanying  these  lines  was  engraved  by  Samuel 
Freeman,  in  1849,  from  an  original  drawing  by  J. 
Lilley.] 


CONTENTS 

OF 

THE    FIRST    VOLUME 

CHAPTER    I 

Accession  of  Francis  I. — Misgivings  of  Louis  XII. — Prudence  of  Louis  XII. — 
His  marriage  with  Jeanne  de  France — His  attachment  to  Anne  de  Bre- 
tagne — Betrothal  of  the  dauphin,  afterwards  Charles  VIII. — His  roman- 
tic passion  for  Anne  de  Bretagne — Love  of  Madame  de  Beaujeu  for  the 
Due  d'Orleans — Accession  of  Charles  VIII. — Revolt  of  the  Due  d'Or- 
leans — His  imprisonment — Restored  to  liberty  at  the  intercession  of  his 
wife — Charles  refuses  to  maiTy  Margaret  of  Austria — Indignation  of 
the  emperor — Proposals  of  marriage  from  Charles  VIII.  to  Anne  de 
Bretagne — Reluctance  of  the  young  duchess — She  yields — Her  corona- 
tion— Death  of  Charles  VIII. — Anne  promises  her  hand  to  Louis  XII. — 
Marriage  of  Louis  XII.  to  Jeanne  de  France  annulled  by  Alexander  VI. — 
Death  of  Jeanne  de  France — Marriage  of  Louis  XII.  and  Anne  de  Bre- 
tagne— Birth  of  Francis  I.— Comte  d'Angouleme — ^Jealousy  of  the  Com- 
tesse  d'Angouleme  and  the  queen — Comtesse  d'Angouleme  exiled  to 
Amboise — Marechal  de  Gie  appointed  governor  to  the  young  prince — 
Accomplishments  of  Francis — Attachment  of  M.  de  Gie  to  Madame 
d'Angouleme — Arrival  of  the  Court  at  Amboise — Household  of  the 
queen — Her  ostentation — Conflicting  politics — Departure  of  the  Court 
— Charles  de  Montpensier — His  passion  for  Marguerite  de  Valois — Her 
education — Jealousy  of  Gauffier — The  Comte  de  Montpensier  quarrels 
with  the  prince  —  Leaves  Amboise — M.  de  Vandenesse — Intrigue  of 
Louise  de  Savoie — M.  de  Vandenesse  dismissed  by  M.  de  Gie — Illness 
of  the  king — Anxiety  of  Anne  de  Bretagne — The  queen  enters  into  a 
treaty  of  marriage  between  her  daughter  and  the  Archduke  Charles — 
Revenge  of  M.  de  Gie — He  seizes  the  queen's  property  at  Namur — 
His  trial  —  His  exile  —  Treaty  of  Blois  —  Mortification  of  Madame 
d'Angouleme       .........     Page  i 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    II 


1504-7 


Marguerite  de  Valois  asked  in  marriage  by  Henry  VII. — Refusal  of  Louis 
XII.  —  Marguerite  married  to  the  Due  d'Alenfon — Her  reluctance — 
Motives  of  the  king — Her  writings — Relapse  of  Louis  XII. — Death  of 
Isabella  of  Spain — Marriage  of  Germaine  de  Foix  with  Ferdinand  of 
Castile  —  The  States-General  assembled  —  Francis  betrothed  to  the 
Princesse  Claude — Death  of  the  Archduke  Philip — ^Jeanne  la  Folle — The 
Pope  determines  on  war — Character  of  Julius  II. — Louis  sends  an  army 
to  Bologna — Genoa  revolts — Wanton  cruelties  perpetrated  by  the  Genoese 
— Louis  proceeds  to  Italy  at  the  head  of  a  large  army — Genoa  capitu- 
lates— Louis  XII.  takes  possession  of  the  city — A  Court  festival — Danc- 
ing bishops — Interview  between  Louis  XII.  and  Ferdinand — Gonsalvo  de 
Cardova — Refusal  of  the  Pope  to  meet  Louis  XII.         .         .     Page  38 


CHAPTER    III 

1508-12 

Julius  II.  endeavours  to  subjugate  Venice — The  Venetians  attempt  to  pro- 
pitiate Germany  and  Spain — Treaty  between  the  Four  Great  Powers — The 
French  army  re-enters  Italy — Battle  of  Agnadello — Success  of  Louis 
XII. — Despair  of  the  Venetians — Weakness  of  Maximilian — The  Vene- 
tians take  Padua — The  Swiss  desert — Flight  of  the  emperor — Louis 
returns  to  France — Hostility  of  the  Pope  towards  France — Defection  of 
Ferdinand — Louis  threatened  with  excommunication — The  Pope  pro- 
ceeds with  his  army  to  Mirandola — Heroic  defence  of  the  Countess  Fran- 
cesca  Pico — Death  of  the  Cardinal  d'Amboise — The  Pope  enters  into  a 
league  with  England  and  Spain — Gallantry  of  Gaston  de  Foix — Victory 
of  Ravenna — Death  of  Gaston  de  Foix — The  French  return  to  the 
Milanese  ...........     59 


CHAPTER    IV 

1513 

Effects  of  the  battle  of  Ravenna — Religious  scruples  of  the  queen — The  Pope 
raises  a  force  in  Switzerland — The  emperor  withdraws  his  subjects  from 
the  French  army — Maximilian  Sforza  enters  Milan — The  Genoese  revolt 
— Lord  Dorset  lands  in  Spain,  is  disgusted,  and  withdraws — Intrigues 
of  Ferdinand — Louis  XII.  invests  Francis  with  the  command  of  the 
army  of  the  Milanese — The  Spanish  general  declines  his  challenge — The 


CONTENTS  xix 

French  raise  their  camp  before  Pampeluna,  and  repass  the  Alps — Light- 
heartedness  of  Francis — A  prince  and  an  advocate — Licentiousness  of 
Francis — Ancient  notions  of  piety — France  enters  into  a  league  with  the 
Venetian  states — Treaty  of  marriage  between  the  Archduke  Charles 
and  the  Princesse  Renee — Union  of  Venice  with  France — Death  of 
Julius  II. — Accession  of  Leo  X. — His  enmity  to  France — Louis  XII. 
endeavours  to  propitiate  him,  but  fails — He  concludes  a  truce  with  Fer- 
dinand and  the  Venetians — The  Swiss  take  up  arms  against  France — 
Ferdinand  and  Henry  VIII.  join  the  cause  of  the  Pope — Louis  again 
invades  the  Milanese — Takes  the  principal  cities — Battle  of  Vivegano — 
The  French  are  driven  from  the  Milanese — Louis  mortgages  a  portion  of 
the  crown  land — Henry  VIII.  invades  France,  and  besieges  Terouenne — 
Louis  proceeds  to  Calais — Bayard  captures  an  English  gun — Famine  in 
the  city — Maximilian  joins  the  English  king — The  battle  of  the  Spurs — 
Bayard  wins  his  ransom — Honours  rendered  to  Bayard  by  Maximilian 
and  Henry  VIII. — Louis  withdraws  his  army  into  Picardy     .     Page  79 


CHAPTER    V 

1513-14 

Divisions  among  the  French  generals — Francis  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  new  army — Terouenne  capitulates,  and  is  destroyed  by  Henry  VIII. — 
Burgundy  revolts — The  Swiss  determine  to  invade  France — They  are 
worsted  at  Dijon,  and  enter  into  a  treaty  with  the  French  general — The 
treaty  is  disavowed  by  Louis — Dismal  prospects  of  France — Henry  VIII. 
enters  Tournay,  and  returns  to  England — A  twelvemonths'  truce  signed 
by  the  European  sovereigns — Death  of  Anne  de  Bretagne — Grief  of  the 
king — Marriage  of  the  Princesse  Claude  and  Francis — The  Court  mourn- 
ing— Louis  urged  to  take  a  third  wife — The  Due  de  Longueville  nego- 
tiates for  the  hand  of  the  Princess  Mary  of  England — Misunderstanding 
between  the  two  monarchs — The  treaty  is  renewed — Betrothal  of  the 
contracting  parties — Mary  and  Brandon,  Duke  of  Suffolk — Arrival  of  the 
young  queen  in  France — Anne  Boleyn — The  royal  marriage — Court 
festivities  —  Mary  becomes  enamoured  of  Francis  —  Position  of  the 
Princesse  Claude  —  A  courtier's  caution — Accusation  of  Brantome — 
Illness  of  Louis  XII.  —  His  last  interview  with  Francis  —  Death  of 
Louis  XII 109 


CHAPTER   VI 

The  queen  cedes  her  estates  to  her  husband — The  Bretons  disallow  her  right 
— Enthusiasm  of  the  French  people  on   the  accession  of  Francis — His 


CONTENTS 


coronation — His  interview  with  Queen  Mary — His  caution  to  Suffolk — 
Brandon  marries  the  widowed  queen — Is  reproached  by  Francis  for  his 
perfidy — But  reconciled  to  Henry  at  the  entreaty  of  his  wife,  and  returns 
to  England — Francis  makes  his  public  entry  into  Paris — His  profusion — 
His  romantic  tastes — His  high  spirit — He  forms  his  government — Charles 
de  Bourbon  created  Constable  of  France — Marriage  of  Mademoiselle  de 
Bourbon  with  the  Due  de  Lorraine — The  king  and  the  wild  boar — The 
Court  of  Madame  d'Angouleme — Her  maids  of  honour — Circle  of  the 
queen — Her  love  of  retirement — Francis  resolves  to  recover  the  Milanese 
— The  Archduke  Charles  sends  ambassadors  to  France — Is  promised  the 
hand  of  the  Princesse  Renee,  the  queen's  sister — Henry  of  Nassau — He 
marries  Claudine  de  Chalon — State  of  Europe — Treaty  between  France 
and  England — Francis  endeavours  to  conciliate  the  Swiss — They  threaten 
to  invade  France — Francis  marches  a  strong  force  towards  Burgundy — 
Ferdinand  endeavours  to  alarm  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor — Francis 
removes  to  Amboise,  and  sends  an  embassy  to  Rome    .         .     Page  133 


CHAPTER   VII 


1515 


Francis  organizes  his  army — The  queen's  farewell  reception — Magnificence  of 
Bourbon — Emotion  of  Marguerite  de  Valois — ^Jealousy  of  Bonnivet — 
Their  parting — Indiscretion  of  Bonnivet — Difficulty  in  replenishing  the 
treasury — Discontent  of  the  Parliament — Madame  d'Angouleme  appointed 
regent — Character  of  Louise  de  Savoie — Amount  of  the  French  army — 
Its  distribution — Difficulty  in  passing  the  Alps — Perseverance  of  the 
troops — The  vanguard  enters  Italy — Surprise  of  Prosper  Colonna — His 
capture — Delivers  his  syvord  to  Bayard — Alessandria  and  Tortona  taken 
by  the  French — Alarm  of  the  Pope — Retreat  of  the  Swiss — Francis 
endeavours  to  conciliate  them,  but  fails  through  the  agency  of  the  Cardinal 
of  Sion — The  Swiss  troops  attempt  to  seize  the  public  chest  at  Buffaloro 
— Their  leaders  apprize  Lautrec  of  the  project — They  evacuate  Italy — 
Bayard  solicits  the  king's  permission  to  attack  the  enemy,  but  is  refused 
— Francis  marches  upon  Turin — He  is  joined  by  the  Due  de  Gueldres — 
The  French  headquarters  are  established  at  Marignano — Cardona  refuses 
to  pass  the  Po — D'Alviano  reaches  Lodi — Indignation  of  Francis  against 
the  Swiss  —  The  Cardinal  of  Sion  harangues  the  mercenary  troops — 
Fleuranges  alarms  the  garrison — The  Swiss  troops  march  upon  Marignano 
— The  king  is  apprized  of  their  approach — Battle  of  Marignano — Francis 
narrowly  escapes  capture — Bayard  is  unhorsed,  but  effects  his  retreat — 
The  battle-couch  of  Francis — The  attack  is  resumed  at  daybreak — The 
Swiss  troops  retreat,  and  return  to  Milan,  whence  they  proceed  home- 
ward, pursued  by  D'Alviano — The  price  of  victory — Francis  receives 
knighthood  on  the  field  at  the  hands  of  Bayard,  and  confers  it  upon 
Fleuranges — The  French  march  to  Milan — The  Swiss  revolt  against  the 


CONTENTS 


Cardinal  of  Sion,  who  secures  his  safety  by  flight — Reception  of  the 
French  king  by  the  citizens  of  Milan — Maximilian  Sforza  surrenders  to 
Francis — Generosity  of  the  conqueror — The  Milanese  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  France  ...         .         .         .         .         .     Page  1 60 


CHAPTER    VIII 

1515-17 

Leo  X.  proposes  a  treaty  with  France,  which  is  ratified  at  Viterbo — His 
tergiversation — Francis  proceeds  to  Bologna  to  meet  the  Pope — Policy  of 
the  pontiff — A  league  is  formed  between  the  two  potentates — Francis 
agrees  to  abandon  his  designs  on  Naples — The  question  of  the  Pragmatic 
Sanction  is  discussed — Discontent  of  the  University  of  Paris — Leo  X. 
endeavours  to  induce  Francis  to  undertake  a  crusade  against  the  Turks — 
The  Concordat  is  signed — Exultation  of  the  French  people — Ferdinand 
of  Aragon  endeavours  to  arouse  the  jealousy  of  Henry  VIII.  against 
France — The  emperor  raises  a  powerful  army — Lautrec  besieges  Brescia, 
but  is  repulsed,  and  compelled  to  retire  to  Milan — The  Due  de  Bourbon 
destroys  the  faubourgs  of  the  city,  and  disbands  the  Swiss  troops — The 
emperor  threatens  to  raze  the  city  of  Milan — The  Swiss  refuse  to  act — 
Maximilian  escapes  by  night  from  the  camp — The  siege  of  Milan  is  raised 
— The  Swiss  troops  are  recalled  by  the  Diet — The  Imperialists  evacuate 
the  Milanese — Disgrace  of  Maximilian — Brescia  capitulates — Death  of 
Ferdinand  of  Aragon — He  bequeaths  his  kingdom  to  the  Archduke 
Charles — Francis  issues  several  edicts  which  are  unfavourably  received 
by  his  subjects — Arrogance  of  the  chancellor — Education  of  Charles  of 
Aragon — His  prospects — He  endeavours  to  conciliate  Francis — Jealousy 
of  M.  de  Chievres  against  the  Cardinal  Ximenes — Charles  sends  an 
ambassador  to  France — The  two  monarchs  enter  into  a  treaty  of  alliance 
— The  hand  of  the  infant  Princesse  Louise  promised  to  the  Spanish  king 
— The  peace  of  Noyon — Maximilian  accedes  to  the  treaty — State  of  the 
Venetian  territories — Francis  opens  a  negotiation  with  the  Helvetic 
States,  and  concludes  a  treaty  of  amity  with  Switzerland       .         .     202 


CHAPTER    IX 

1515-17 

Domestic  life  of  Francis — The  Court  of  Queen  Claude — Anticipated  birth  of  a 
dauphin — Circle  of  Madame  d'Angouleme — Licentiousness  of  the  young 
king — He  resolves  to  form  a  distinct  Court — The  Comtesse  de  Chateau- 
briand— Her  birth  and  girlhood — Her  marriage — The  count  is  summoned 
to  Court — His  forebodings — The  mystic  rings — Mistaken  confidence — 
Reception   of  the   count   by   Francis — Treachery  of  a  confidant — The 


CONTENTS 


countess  arrives  at  Chambord — Displeasure  of  her  husband — A  misunder- 
standing— The  queen's  reception — Presentation  of  the  countess  to  the 
king — The  queen  and  the  countess — Mistaken  violence  of  M.  de  Chateau- 
briand— The  influence  of  a  Court  atmosphere — Policy  of  Louise  de  Savoie 
— M.  de  Chateaubriand  retires  from  the  Court     .  .  .     Page  226 


CHAPTER    X 

1517-18 

Francis  forms  projects  for  the  embellishment  of  his  kingdom  and  the  encour- 
agement of  literature — Birth  of  a  dauphin — Francis  invites  Leo  X.  to 
become  sponsor  to  the  young  prince — The  royal  christening — Resigna- 
tion of  Queen  Claude — Marriage  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  and  Madelaine 
de  la  Tour-d'Auvergne — Munificence  of  the  Pope — A  fancy  ball  in  the 
sixteenth  century — The  bridal  banquet — Increasing  influence  of  Madame 
de  Chateaubriand — Louise  de  Savoie  becomes  jealous  of  her  power  over 
the  king — Forbearance  of  the  queen — The  countess  pushes  the  fortunes 
of  her  brothers — The  hunting-party — Lautrec  appointed  governor  of  the 
Milanese — The  recall  of  Bourbon — Indignation  of  the  duchess-mother — 
Bourbon  arrives  at  Court — Love  visions — ^Jealousy  of  Francis — The 
chancellor  endeavours  to  effect  the  recognition  of  the  Concordat — Per- 
plexity of  the  king — Magisterial  corruption — Pertinacity  of  Francis — 
Dismissal  of  the  delegates — Registration  of  the  Concordat — Demon- 
stration of  the  university — Unpopularity  of  the  king     .  .  .      242 


CHAPTER    XI 

1518 

The  progress  of  literature — Leonardo  da  Vinci — Native  talent — Tact  of 
Francis — An  Italian  charlatan — Erasmus  invited  to  France — He  refuses 
to  leave  England — Cupidity  of  Leo  X. — Martin  Luther — Increasing 
favour  of  Madame  de  Chateaubriand — Unbounded  authority  of  Louise  de 
Savoie — Arrogance  of  the  French  king — His  profusion — Lautrec  disgusts 
the  Milanese — The  Marechal  Trivulzio — Intrigues  of  the  favourite — 
Trivulzio  is  declared  a  traitor — He  demands  an  audience  of  the  king, 
is  refused,  and  dies  broken-hearted — The  vacant  baton  is  conferred  upon 
M.  de  Lescun  .........     267 

CHAPTER    XII 

1518 

Increasing  popularity  of  Charles  of  Spain — Bonnivet  is  sent  on  a  mission  to 
England — A  league  is  proposed  by  Francis  to  Henry  against  the  Turks — 


CONTENTS  xxiii 

And  the  marriage  of  the  infant  dauphin  with  the  Princess  Mary — The 
reception  of  the  embassy  at  the  Court  of  England — Bonnivet  secures  the 
interest  of  Wolsey — Francis  enters  into  a  correspondence  with  the  car- 
dinal— Wolsey  resigns  the  bishopric  of  Tournay — Suspicions  of  Henry 
VIII. — The  treaty  is  concluded — The  hostages — The  betrothal  at  St. 
Paul's — The  French  embassy  leaves  England — The  Earl  of  Worcester 
arrives  in  France — Reluctance  of  the  Earl  of  Worcester  to  deliver  up 
the  city  of  Tournay — Indignation  of  M.  de  Chatillon — The  betrothal  is 
repeated  at  St.  Denis — The  ambassadors  leave  France — Francis  fortifies 
Tournay  and  Terouenne — The  French  king  endeavours  to  conciliate 
Charles  of  Castile — The  Turks  threaten  Italy — Francis  declares  his  in- 
tention of  joining  the  Crusade — Death  of  the  Sultan — Charles  aspires  to 
be  elected  Emperor  of  Germany — Rivalry  of  Charles  and  Francis — 
Maximilian  demands  the  crown  of  Rome — Intrigues  of  Leo  X. — 
Chivalric  diplomacy — Bonnivet  is  despatched  to  Frankfort — Precarious 
position  of  Germany — Death  of  Maximilian — Its  effect  upon  the  affairs 
of  Europe — Francis  bribes  the  electoral  princes  .         .     Page  285 


CHAPTER    XIII 

1519 

A  struggle  for  empire — Contrast  between  Charles  and  Francis — Able  govern- 
ment of  the  Cardinal  Ximenes — He  is  displaced  and  dies — The  Germans 
favour  the  pretensions  of  Francis — Tergiversation  of  the  Pope — Duplicity 
of  Henry  VIII. — Supineness  of  the  petty  princes — Wily  policy  of  Charles 
— Germaine  de  Foix — Francis  offends  the  prejudices  of  the  Flemish — 
Robert  de  la  Mark — Seckingen — His  introduction  to  the  French  king — 
Mutual  misgivings — The  Due  de  Gueldres  is  disgraced  at  the  instigation 
of  Louise  de  Savoie — Her  double  dealing — M.  de  la  Mark  and  the 
Bishop  of  Liege  join  the  cause  of  Charles — Disgust  of  Seckingen — He 
joins  the  princes  of  Bouillon — Charles  of  Austria  attacks  the  Turkish 
galleys  ..........     306 


CHAPTER    XIV 

1519-20 

The  electoral  diet  convened  at  Frankfort — Death  of  M.  de  Boissy — Charles 
proclaimed  Emperor  of  Germany — Mortification  of  the  French  Ministers 
— Self-command  of  Francis — Birth  of  a  prince — Henry  VIII,  becomes 
his  sponsor  —  Progress  of  the  Lutheran  faith — Louise  de  Savoie 
establishes  herself  at  the  Tuileries — Francis  resolves  to  rebuild  the 
Louvre — Bonnivet  incites  the  king  to  enter  upon  a  new  war — Francis 
bribes  Wolsey — Henry  and  Francis  arrange  a  personal  interview — The 
Navarrese  question  is  revived   between  the  emperor  and  the  French 


CONTENTS 


king — Critical  position  of  Charles  V. — The  field  of  cloth  of  gold — 
The  banquet — The  treaty — The  tourney — Fearlessness  of  Francis — An 
exchange  of  visits — The  two  queens — The  parting  mass — Confirmation 
of  the  treaty — Departure  of  Henry  VIII.  for  Gravelines — Francis  returns 
to  France Page  326 


CHAPTER    XV 

1520-21 

The  differences  between  England  and  Scotland  submitted  to  the  arbitration 
of  Wolsey  and  Louise  de  Savoie — Wolsey  is  brought  over  to  the  cause  of 
the  emperor — Charles  V.  and  Henry  VIII.  meet  at  Gravelines — Charles 
proceeds  to  Aix-la-Chapelle  for  his  coronation — Narrow  escape  of  the 
French  king — Charles  convokes  a  diet  at  Worms — Luther  defends  his 
doctrines,  is  outlawed,  and  protected  by  the  Elector  of  Saxony  — 
Francis  is  reluctant  to  commence  the  war — Ingratitude  of  Charles  V.  to 
Robert  de  la  Mark — La  Mark  returns  to  his  allegiance,  and  defies  the 
emperor — Policy  of  the  Pope — The  Spaniards  revolt — Arrogance  of 
Charles  V. — The  Navarrese  solicit  Henri  D'Albret  to  claim  his  crown — 
Francis  supplies  him  with  troops — Defence  of  the  citadel  of  Pampeluna 
— Ignatius  Loyola — Surrender  of  Pampeluna  to  the  French — Imprudence 
of  the  French  general — He  enters  Spain — The  Castilians  rise  against 
him — Lespare  is  defeated  and  made  prisoner — The  emperor  marches  an 
army  against  the  Due  de  Gueldres — The  rival  sovereigns  appeal  to 
Henry  VIII. — The  Due  de  Gueldres  sues  for  a  truce — Francis  fortifies 
his  frontiers — Duplicity  of  the  emperor-^The  Comte  de  Nassau  takes 
Menzon — A  conference  opened  at  Calais — The  Pope  and  Wolsey  meet 
at  Bruges — Bad  faith  of  Leo  X.— Indignation  of  Francis  against  the 
English  king — His  self-reliance — Bayard  defends  Mezieres — Francis 
encounters  the  enemy  near  Valenciennes,  but  suffers  them  to  escape — 
The  Comte  de  Nassau  summons  Bayard  to  surrender — Spirited  reply  of 
the  good  knight — A  ruse  de  guerre — The  imperialists  raise  the  siege — 
The  bottle  of  wine — The  recompense  of  Bayard — Gratitude  of  the 
citizens  of  Mezieres  to  the  good  knight — Francis  marches  upon  Picardy — 
Charles  joins  his  army  at  Valenciennes — Francis  confers  the  command  of 
the  vanguard  upon  the  Due  d'Alenjon — Indignation  of  Bourbon — 
Francis  returns  to  France,  and  disbands  his  army  .         .         .     363 


BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 


TO 


THE    FIRST    VOLUME 


Anne  de  Montfort 

5 

Margaret  of  Austria   . 

6 

Pierre  de  Bourbon 

7 

Louis,  Sire  de  la  Tremouille 

8 

Philippe  de  la  Clite,  Sire  de  Com- 

mines     ..... 

II 

Louise  de  Savoie 

i6 

Pierre  de  Rohan,  Seigneur  de  Gie 

i8 

Charles  de  Montpensier 

23 

Jean  de  Chabannes,  Seigneur  de 

Vandenesse    .... 

23 

Jacques  de  Chabannes,  Seigneur 

de  la  Palice    .... 

23 

Guillaume  Gouffier,  Seigneur  de 

Bonnivet         .... 

23 

George,  Cardinal  d'Amboise 

41 

Gui  de  Rochefort 

46 

Guillaume  de  Croy,  Seigneur  de 

Chievres          .... 

47 

Charles  d'Amboise,  Seigneur  de 

Chaumont      .... 

52 

Pierre   du   Terrail,   Seigneur   de 

Bayard  

55 

Jean  Jacques  Trivulce,   Marquis 

deVigevano 

56 

Francesco-Maria  de  la  Rovera    . 

63 

Raymond  de  Cardona 

72 

Fabrizio  Colonna 

72 

Pietro  da  Navarro 

73 

Alphonso  d'Este 

75 

Ludovic-Maria  Sforza 

80 

Due  de  Longueville   . 

83 

Messire  Robert  de  la  Mark 
Adrian  de  Brimeu,  Marquis  d'lm 

bercourt 
Sire  Imbaud  de  Fontrailles 
Eleanora  of  Austria    . 
Louis  de  Luxembourg,  Comte  de 

Saint-Pol 
Odet  de  Foix,  Sire  de  Lautrec 
Antoine  Duprat 
Anne  de  Montmorency 
Philippe  de  Chabot,  Sire  de  Brion 
Henry,  Count  of  Nassau  . 
Robert  d'Aubigny 
Guillaume  Budee 
Rene,  the  Bastard  of  Savoy 
Prosper  Colonna 
Marco-Antonio  Colonna 
Don  Francisco  Ximenes 
Henri  d'Albret  H.  . 
Madelaine  de  la  Tour-d'Auvergne 
Pierre  Danes 
Pierre  du  Chatel 
Guillaume  Cop  . 
Etienne  Poucher 
Andre  Alcyat  . 
Philippe  de  Hesse 
Jeromio  Aleandro 
Ugo  de  Moncada 
Clement  Marot  . 
Francesco-Maria  Sforza 
Adrian,  Bishop  of  Tortosa 
Seigneur  de  Montmoreau   . 


96 

99 
100 
119 

142 

143 
144 
144 
145 
150 
153 
158 
164 

173 
214 
219 
221 

247 
268 
268 
268 
268 
269 

315 
320 

32s 
336 

374 
376 

382 


ENGRAVED    PORTRAITS 


VOL.    I 


1.  Francis  I.,  King  of  France Frontispiece 

Designed  by  Le  Gros  and  engraved  by  Joseph  Brown,  after 
the  Portrait  by  Titian. 

2.  Julia  Pardoe Prefixed  to  Memoir 

Engraved,  in  1849,  by  S.  Freeman  from  an  Original  Draw- 
ing by  J.  Lilley. 

3.  Ferdinand,  Duke  of  Alva To  face  page  8$ 

From  the  Original  by  Schubert  in  the  Imperial  Collection, 
Lower  Belvidere,  Vienna,  and  engraved  by  S.  Freeman. 

4.  Margaret  de  Valois ,,  162 

Engraved  by  S.  Freeman  from  a  Portrait  published  in  Niel's 
Illustres  Francais  du  \6me  SUcle. 

5.  Charles,   Duke    of    Bourbon   and    Constable   of 

France ,,  256 

From  a  scarce  Print  after  Titian,  engraved  by  Vorsterman, 
now  re-engraved  by  J.  W.  Cook. 

6.  Henry  VIII „  351 

Engraved  by  J.  Cook  from  the  Original  Picture  by  Holbein 
in  the  Court  Room  at  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital. 

7.  Ignatius  Loyola „  378 

From  a  scarce  Print  by  H.  Wierix. 


The  stamped  Design  used  on  the  cover  of  this  work  is  copied 
from  a  cut  in  Dibdin's  Bibliographical  Decamerott,  where  it  is  given 
as  a  specimen  of  the  skill  in  this  kind  of  ornament  possessed  by  the 
celebrated  Diane  de  Poitiers, — "in  which  she  has  contrived  to  inter- 
weave her  initials  with  those  of  her  royal  lover,  as  well  as  to  introduce 
the  insignia  of  the  heathen  goddess  whose  name  she  bore." 


THE    COURT   AND    REIGN 

OF 

FRANCIS    THE    FIRST 
CHAPTER   I 

Accession  of  Francis  I. — Misgivings  of  Louis  XII, — His  marriage  with  Jeanne 
de  France — Betrothal  of  the  dauphin,  afterwards  Charles  VIII. — His 
romantic  passion  for  Anne  de  Bretagne — Accession  of  Charles  VIII. — 
Revolt  of  the  Due  d'Orleans — His  imprisonment — Restored  to  liberty  at 
the  intercession  of  his  wife  —  Charles  refuses  to  marry  Margaret  of 
Austria  —  Indignation  of  the  emperor — Proposals  of  marriage  from 
Charles  VIII.  to  Anne  de  Bretagne — Her  coronation — Death  of  Charles 
VIII. — Death  of  Jeanne  de  France — Marriage  of  Louis  XII.  and  Anne 
de  Bretagne — Birth  of  Francis  I. — Comte  d'Angouleme — Jealousy  of 
the  Comtesse  d'Angouleme  and  the  queen — Comtesse  d'Angouleme 
exiled  to  Amboise — Marechal  de  Gie  appointed  governor  to  the  young 
prince — Accomplishments  of  Francis — Household  of  the  queen — Her 
ostentation — Conflicting  politics — Departure  of  the  Court — Charles  de 
Montpensier — His  passion  for  Marguerite  de  Valois — Her  education — 
Jealousy  of  Gaufifier — M.  de  Vandenesse — Intrigue  of  Louise  de  Savoie 
— Illness  of  the  king — The  queen  enters  into  a  treaty  of  marriage  between 
her  daughter  and  the  Archduke  Charles — Reven^  of  M.  de  Gie — His  trial 
— His  exile — Treaty  of  Blois — Mortification  of  Madame  d'Angouleme. 

In  the  person  of  Louis  XII.  of  France  expired  the 
elder  branch  of  the  House  of  Orleans.  Only  three 
months  subsequent  to  his  nuptials  with  the  young 
and  beautiful  Mary  of  England  (the  sister  of  Henry 
VIII.),  his  third  wife,  he  was  seized  with  fever  and 
dysentery  at  the  palace  of  Les  Tournelles  in  Paris ; 
and  breathed  his  last  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  his 

VOL.  I  I 


THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


reign  and  the  fifty-fourth  of  his  age,  leaving  the 
vacant  throne  to  the  Comte  d'Angouleme,  the  hus- 
band of  his  daughter  Claude. 

The  extreme  personal  beauty  of  this  prince,  com- 
bined with  his  fearless  and  engaging  qualities,  his 
eloquence,  courtliness  of  demeanour,  and  unbounded 
liberality,  dazzled  alike  the  courtiers  and  the  people ; 
and  the  dying  king  was  probably  the  only  individual 
in  the  nation  who  had  reflected  with  misgiving  upon 
the  possible,  and  indeed  inevitable,  results  of  the 
uncalculating  profusion  and  ungovernable  ambition 
of  his  successor.     In  himself  a  model  of  integrity, 
and  well  deserving  the  title  of  the  Father  of  his 
People,  from  his  constant  and  zealous  watchfulness 
over  the  interests  of  his  subjects,  he  could  not  wit- 
ness   without    anxiety   the  brilliant   but  dangerous 
qualities  of  the   young  count ;    and    it  was   conse- 
quently with  earnestness  and  care  that  he  applied 
himself  before  his  death  to  the  execution  of  such 
public  measures  as  might  at  least  tend  to  mitigate, 
even  if  they  could  not  altogether  avert,  the  evils 
which  he  deprecated.      Although  occasionally  the 
dupe  of  his  own  kind-heartedness  and  the  treachery 
of  his  neighbours,  Louis  XII.  never  lost  his  con- 
fidence in  human  nature ;  and  constantly  sought  to 
remedy  rather  than  revenge  the  wrongs  to  which 
he  was  subjected    by  others ;    while,    carrying   his 
prudence  to  an  extreme  which  was  on  many  occa- 
sions stigmatized  by  the  young  and  inconsiderate 
with  the  name  of  penuriousness,  he  was  accustomed, 
when  this  fact  was  hinted  to  him,  to  reply  that  "  the 


FRANCIS   THE  FIRST 


justice  of  a  monarch  should  teach  him  to  render 
to  every  one  his  due,  rather  than  to  suffer  his 
generosity  to  induce  him  to  display  too  great 
a  profusion."  It  was  therefore  natural  that  the 
opposite  qualities,  which  he  early  discovered  in  his 
son-in-law,  should  cause  him  to  look  with  distrust 
into  the  future.  "  Ce  gros  gar f  on  nous  gdtera  tout ;" 
he  was  wont  to  exclaim  whenever  any  instance  of 
the  improvidence  of  Francis  was  forced  upon  him  ; 
but  not  even  the  most  serious  of  his  delinquencies 
sufficed  to  diminish  his  affection,  or  to  excite  his 
anger  towards  the  offender. 

Moreover,  it  is  certain  that  if  Francis  I.  became 
not  only  a  chivalric,  but  also,  for  the  age  in  which 
he  lived,  an  accomplished  sovereign,  his  predecessor 
may  nevertheless  be  justly  styled  the  Father  of 
letters  in  France ;  learning  having  been  greatly 
encouraged  during  his  reign,  and  learned  men 
especially  honoured.  Cicero  was  his  favourite 
author  among  the  ancients,  and  his  collection  of 
autographs  was  of  considerable  extent  and  value. 
He  employed  many  Italian  scholars  at  his  court  and 
in  the  public  offices ;  and  his  directions  to  his  judges 
were  stringent,  that  they  should  upon  all  occasions 
decide  such  causes  as  came  before  them  according 
to  the  dictates  of  their  conscience  ;  and  utterly 
disregard,  under  every  circumstance,  even  any 
orders  to  the  contrary  which  might  be  wrung  from 
himself  during  the  progress  of  the  proceedings. 
He  also  discouraged,  in  so  far  as  he  found  it 
possible,    the   inordinate   taste   of  his    nobility    for 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


costly  Studs  and  extravagant  establishments  of 
hounds,  declaring  that,  like  Actseon,  they  were 
devoured  by  their  dogs  and  horses.  Nevertheless, 
he  was  accomplished  in  all  feats  of  joust  and 
tournay ;  and  so  brave  in  the  field,  that  upon  one 
occasion,  when  his  immediate  attendants,  who  con- 
sidered their  own  lives  endangered  by  his  im- 
petuosity, ventured  to  expostulate  with  him,  and 
besought  him  not  to  expose  his  sacred  person  with 
so  little  precaution,  he  replied  disdainfully  :  "  Let 
all  who  are  afraid  stand  behind  me !" 

Neither  would  he,  however  great  the  provoca- 
tion, ever  suffer  himself  to  be  betrayed  into  an 
undue  intemperance  of  speech  or  bearing,  by  which 
his  kingly  dignity  might  be  compromised ;  and  to 
such  an  extent  did  he  carry  this  difficult  self- 
government,  that  when,  during  the  wars  of  Italy, 
D'Alviano,  the  general  of  the  Venetian  army,  was 
brought  before  him  a  captive,  and  replied  to  his 
courteous  and  considerate  greeting  with  an  inso- 
lence which  overpassed  all  bounds,  Louis  magnani- 
mously controlled  every  symptom  of  indignation, 
and  contented  himself  with  directing  his  removal 
to  the  quarters  which  had  been  assigned  to  the 
other  prisoners ;  simply  remarking  to  those  about 
him,  as  the  arrogant  soldier  was  led  away  :  "  I  have 
done  well  to  dismiss  him,  as  I  might  have  lost  my 
temper,  which  I  should  have  regretted.  I  have 
conquered  him  ;  and  it  is  no  less  essential  that  I 
should  learn  to  conquer  myself." 

No    wonder   then    that,    when    he   expired,    the 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  5 

watchmen  of  Paris  announced  the  fatal  event  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  in  these  touching  words : 
"  Frenchmen !  we  declare  to  you  the  most  fatal 
news  that  you  have  ever  heard.  The  good  King 
Louis,  the  Father  of  his  People,  is  dead !  Pray  to 
God  for  the  repose  of  his  soul." 

The  greatest  blot  which  rests  upon  the  memory 
of  Louis  XII.  is  his  repudiation  of  his  first  wife,  the 
unfortunate  Jeanne  de  France,  daughter  of  Louis 
XL,  for  the  purpose  of  marrying  Anne  de  Bretagne,^ 
the  widow  of  Charles  VIII.;  and  even  in  this  act 
there  are  extenuating  points.  Compelled  by  the 
last-named  monarch  to  affiance  himself  while  yet  a 
mere  youth,  and  Due  d'Orleans,  to  Jeanne ;  and 
subsequently  to  complete  an  alliance  which  was 
repugnant  to  him,  when  he  had  already  bestowed 
his  affections  elsewhere,  he  had  the  additional 
mortification  of  seeing  himself  united  to  a  prin- 
cess deformed  in  person,  and  totally  deficient  in 
beauty ;  although  her  meekness  of  temper  and 
gentleness  of  disposition  might  perhaps  have  ulti- 
mately reconciled  him  to  this  fact,  had  he  been 
heart  free  at  the  period  of  his  marriage ;  but 
with  his  imagination  full  of  the  splendid  beauty 
and  courtly  fascinations  of  the  heiress  of  Brittany, 

^  Anne  de  Montfort,  Duchesse  de  Bretagne,  was  the  daughter  and 
heiress  of  Frangois  II.  Born  in  1476,  she  married,  in  1491, 
Charles  VIII.,  king  of  France,  and  governed  the  kingdom  during  his 
expedition  in  Italy.  On  his  death  she  became  the  wife  of  Louis 
XII.,  over  whom  she  exercised  extraordinary  influence.  She  was 
the  first  queen  who  had  a  separate  bodyguard ;  and  also  the  first 
who  adopted  black  as  mourning,  white  having  previously  been  the 
conventional  colour.      She  died  in  1514. 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


his  dislike  to  his  enforced  bride  soon  grew  into 
disgust. 

Unfortunately  for  the  timid  and  neglected  duchess, 
Louis  had  been  a  guest  at  the  court  of  the  Due 
Francois  at  a  period  anterior  to  their  union,  when 
Anne,  although  also  affianced  to  the  Archduke  Maxi- 
milian of  Austria,  whom  she  had  never  seen,  was  in 
the  first  bloom  of  her  maidenly  beauty.  As  yet 
fettered  by  no  definitive  ties  (for  she  was  aware  that 
her  marriage  treaty  could  be  annulled  as  readily  as 
it  had  been  contracted),  she  was  by  no  means  in- 
sensible to  the  evident  passion  of  the  gallant  and 
handsome  Due  d'Orleans ;  and  it  was,  consequently, 
with  increased  irritation  and  chagrin  that  he  saw 
himself  unable  to  profit  by  a  preference  which  would 
have  secured  his  happiness. 

The  dauphin,  afterwards  Charles  VIII.,  had  been 
in  his  turn,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  betrothed  to 
Margaret  of  Austria,^  the  daughter  of  Maximilian, 
after  his  hand  had  been  successively  declined  by  the 
Princesse  Marie,  and  Elizabeth  of  England ;  and 
powerless  and  timid  as  he  was,  he  revolted  at  the 
idea  of  being  thus  fettered  by  an  engagement  to  a 
child  who   had   scarcely  entered  her   fourth    year. 

1  Margaret  of  Austria  was  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Maxi- 
mihan  and  Mary  of  Burgundy,  and  was  born  at  Ghent  in  1480. 
Affianced  to  the  dauphin  (Charles  VIII.),  and  subsequently  sent 
back  to  the  court  of  her  father,  she  was  again  betrothed,  in  the  year 
1497,  to  the  Infant  John,  son  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  and  Isabella  ; 
and  in  1508,  after  the  death  of  Don  John,  she  married  Philibert  le 
Beau,  Due  de  Savoie,  whom  she  lost  in  151 2,  and  who  left  her,  as 
her  first  husband  had  done,  a  childless  widow.  Her  father  appointed 
her  Gouvernante  of  the  Low  Countries,  and  she  ultimately  died  at 

lines,  in  1530^ 


FRANCIS   THE.  FIRST 


According  to  the  command  of  the  king  his  father, 
Charles  had  been  reared  in  the  most  perfect  retire- 
ment, in  the  fortress-palace  of  Amboise,  under  the 
united  guardianship  of  Madame  Anne  de  France, 
his  elder  sister,  and  the  Sire  de  Beaujeu,^  her  hus- 
band. The  feeble  health  of  the  young  prince,  who 
was  very  delicate  and  of  slight  frame,  but  gentle 
and  kind  in  disposition,  was  the  plausible  pretext  of 
Louis  for  thus  secluding  him  from  the  world,  and 
maintaining  him  in  profound  ignorance  of  all  public 
affairs ;  the  ferocious  and  jealous  monarch  remem- 
bering, in  all  probability,  that  the  example  of  filial 
turpitude  which  he  had  himself  exhibited  might, 
should  he  suffer  the  physical  and  mental  strength  of 
his  son  to  attain  their  just  dimensions,  be  followed 
in  the  person  of  the  dauphin. 

Thus  Louis  XL  had  found  it  difficult  to  secure 
such  a  wife  for  the  young  prince  as  he  deemed 
worthy  to  share  the  throne  of  France ;  and  it  was 
not  without  considerable  difficulty  that  Maximilian 
had  at  length  been  induced  to  grant  to  him  the  hand 
of  his  infant  daughter,  who  was  to  remain  under  the 
immediate  guardianship  of  the  queen  until  she  should 
attain  a  marriageable  age. 

The  apparently  profound  indifference  with  which 
Charles  went  through  the  ceremony  of  his  betrothal 
had,  however,  a  deeper  source  than  was  suspected 
by  those  around  him  ;  for  he  also,  although  only  by 
report,  had  suffered  his  boyish  fancy  to  become 
captivated    by   the  charms  of  Anne  de   Bretagne. 

1  Pierre  de  Bourbon,  Connetable  de  France. 


8  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

Again  and  again  did  he  question  his  cousin  d'Orleans, 
and  M.  de  la  Tremouille,^  by  whom  he  had  been 
accompanied  to  the  Court  of  Brittany,  of  all  they  had 
seen  and  heard  in  that  brilliant  circle ;  constantly, 
but  as  if  unconsciously,  directing  their  reminiscences 
to  the  young  duchess,  and  crowding  his  imagination 
with  scenes  of  pageantry  and  pleasure  in  which  she 
was  always  the  most  prominent  object.  To  him, 
debarred  as  he  was  from  all  the  pastimes  suited  to 
his  age  and  rank,  the  bare  outline  of  such  festivities 
would  have  been  attractive ;  but  blent  as  they  thus 
were  with  the  image  of  the  beautiful  young  heiress, 
they  were  the  greatest  luxury  of  his  dull  and  weary 
existence.  No  wonder,  then,  that  after  the  death 
of  his  father,  who  had  confided  the  government  of 
the  kingdom  during  his  minority  to  his  sister  and 
guardian,  Madame  de  Beaujeu,  he  soon  began  to 
cherish  hopes  which  had  hitherto  seemed  more  than 
chimerical. 

1  Louis,  Sire  de  la  Tremouille,  Prince  de  Talmont,  and  Vicomte 
de  Thouars,  born  in  1460,  was  the  representative  of  an  ancient  and 
illustrious  family  of  Poitou,  and  acquired,  by  his  talents  and  courage, 
the  appointment  of  general-in-chief  of  the  army  of  Charles  VIII. 
against  Francois  II.,  Due  de  Bretagne.  He  achieved  a  splendid 
victory  over  the  enemy  at  St.  Aubin-de-Cormier,  in  1488,  and  made 
prisoners  of  both  the  Due  d'Orleans,  afterwards  Louis  XII.,  and  the 
Prince  of  Orange.  He  also  contributed,  in  a  great  degree,  to  the 
reunion  between  the  two  countries,  by  facilitating  the  marriage  of 
the  Duchesse  Anne  and  Charles.  His  services  were  rewarded  by  the 
post  of  first-chamberlain  to  the  king,  and  the  lieutenancy  of  Poitou, 
Anjou,  Angoumais,  Aunis,  and  the  Marches  of  Brittany.  Appointed 
by  Louis  XII.  to  the  command  of  his  armies  in  Italy,  he  effected  the 
conquest  of  Lombardy,  and  was  made  Governor  of  Burgundy  and 
Admiral  of  Guienne  (1502),  and  subsequently  of  Brittany  also. 
Worsted  by  the  Swiss  at  Novara  in  15  13,  he  revenged  his  defeat 
upon  them  at  Marignano,  at  the  fearful  price,  however,  of  his  only 
son,  and  was  ultimately  killed  at  the  battle  of  Pavia  in  1525. 


FRANCIS    THE  FIRST 


Other  and  more  immediate  matters  of  interest, 
however,  in  some  degree  withdrew  the  attention 
of  the  young  monarch  from  this  cherished  secret. 
Madame  Anne  de  France,  who  had  hitherto  pre- 
served her  purity  of  heart  and  rigid  sense  of  morality, 
had  been  unable  to  resist  the  manly  graces  of  the 
Due  d'Orleans,  and  had  even  permitted  him  to  see 
the  hold  which  he  had  obtained  upon  her  affections, 
flattering  herself  that  the  attachment  was  reciprocal ; 
but  Louis,  warned  by  the  Comte  de  Dunois  not  to 
allow  himself  to  be  dazzled  by  the  blandishments 
of  his  royal  sister-in-law,  who  was  only  anxious  toU<^/>r^ 
enslave  his  feelings  in  order  to  divert  him  from  pro-  '^^'^-t^t^ 
secuting  his  claim  to  the  regency  after  the  demise 
of  Louis  XL — a  warning  which  was  overheard  by 
Madame  de  Beaujeu,  and  never  forgotten — caused 
the  young  duke  to  withdraw,  with  marked  coldness, 
from  her  advances,  and  converted  a  fond  woman 
into  an  implacable  enemy.  When,  therefore,  Louis 
d'Orleans,  who  had  taken  up  arms  in  support  of  the 
right  which  he  claimed  as  first  prince  of  the  blood, 
to  govern  the  kingdom  during  the  minority  of 
Charles,  was  defeated  and  captured  at  St.  Aubin, 
in  Brittany,  by  the  Sire  de  la  Tremouille, — remem- 
bering only  the  slight  which  had  been  offered  to  her, 
and  anxious  to  revenge,  under  cover  of  political 
expediency,  the  affront  which  she  had  sustained,  she 
caused  him  to  be  confined  in  the  prison -tower  of 
Bourges,  where,  during  three  long  and  weary  years, 
he  was  treated  with  the  greatest  harshness  and  in- 
dignity.    At  the  termination  of  this  period,  however, 


lo  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

his  wife,  whom  even  his  neglect  and  coldness  had 
failed  to  wean  from  the  deep  and  earnest  affection 
which  she  bore  him,  threw  herself  at  the  feet  of  the 
young  king,  her  brother,  and  besought  him,  in  the 
most  heart-touching  terms,  to  restore  the  duke  to 
liberty.  Her  tears  moved  Charles,  who  had  always 
felt  a  strong  affection  for  his  gallant  relative  ;  yet  for 
a  while  he  remained  irresolute.  The  period  at  which 
his  sister's  control  was  legally  to  cease  had  already 
passed  away ;  but  although,  by  the  death  of  her 
husband's  brother,  Anne  de  France  had  become 
Duchesse  de  Bourbon,  she  did  not  appear  disposed 
to  relinquish  her  authority ;  and  Charles  had  never 
ventured  to  oppose  her  will.  The  tears  and  en- 
treaties of  the  unhappy  Jeanne,  however,  ultimately 
overcame  his  constitutional  timidity,  although  not  so 
thoroughly  as  to  induce  him  to  give  a  public  order 
for  the  liberation  of  the  duke ;  for  he  was  so  well 
aware  of  the  inflexible  hatred  which  his  elder  sister 
bore  towards  the  captive,  that  he  had  not  courage 
to  contend  against  the  remonstrances  which  he  was 
conscious  must  ensue  from  such  a  course.  In  order 
to  escape  the  watchfulness  of  Madame  de  Bourbon, 
therefore,  he  affected  to  set  forth  upon  a  hunting 
party ;  and,  directing  his  course  towards  Bourges, 
he  sent  forward  two  of  his  chamberlains  to  liberate 
the  sometime  rebel. 

Anne,  deeply  wounded  by  this  sudden  assump- 
tion of  authority  on  the  part  of  her  late  ward,  at 
once  withdrew  from  all  share  in  the  government, 
and  assumed  towards  the  Due  d' Orleans  an  attitude 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  il 

of  haughty  animosity,  which  was  as  idle  as  it  was 
innoxious. 

Anxious  to  liberate  himself  from  the  trammels 
which  had  been  cast  about  him,  Charles  lost  no 
time  in  causing  the  young  Princess  Margaret,  his 
affianced  bride,  to  be  reconducted  to  Flanders,  with 
great  honour  indeed,  and  attended  by  a  magnificent 
retinue ;  but  this  parade  of  respect  did  not  reconcile 
the  pride  of  the  mortified  girl  to  so  degrading  a 
dismissal,  nor  calm  the  anger  of  her  justly  irritated 
father.  The  resentment  of  Maximilian  was,  how- 
ever, of  slight  importance  to  France  ;  and,  conse- 
quently, the  prospect  of  his  commencing  a  war  in 
order  to  revenge  his  wounded  honour  did  not  in- 
duce Charles  to  renounce  his  hopes  of  a  marriage 
upon  which  his  heart  had  long  been  fixed,  and 
which,  moreover,  promised  to  be  so  advantageous 
to  the  nation.  Dunois,  De  la  Tremouille,  De 
Commines,^  and  all  the  principal  advisers  of  Louis 
d'Orleans,  had  incurred  the  disgrace  of  Madame  de 
Beaujeu,  and  sought  to  gain  the  favour  of  the  young 
king  by  forwarding  his  union  with  Anne  ;  which 
was  rendered  the  more  desirable  from  the  fact  that 

^  Philippe  de  la  Clite,  Sire  de  Commines,  was  born  in  1445j  and 
passed  his  youth  at  the  court  of  Charles  the  Bold,  whose  service  he 
abandoned  for  that  of  Louis  XI.  in  1472.  His  new  master  made 
him  a  counsellor,  chamberlain,  and  seneschal  of  Poitiers,  and  admit- 
ted him  to  the  limited  circle  of  his  intimate  advisers.  At  the  death 
of  Louis  XL  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  council  of  regency  ; 
but,  being  accused  of  favouring  the  faction  of  the  Due  d'Orleans, 
he  was  confined  by  Anne  de  Beaujeu  in  the  castle  of  Loches.  After 
having  undergone  two  years  of  captivity,  he  was  employed  by  the 
Court  in  several  negotiations,  and  died  in  1509,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
four.  His  Memoires  pour  PHistoire  de  Louis  XI.  et  de  diaries  VIII. 
obtained  for  him  the  appellation  of  the  French  Tacitus. 


12  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

her  father  and  younger  sister  being  dead,  she  had 
become  sole  heiress  of  the  noble  duchy  of  Brittany, 
which  would  thus  be  reunited  to  the  crown  of 
France. 

Their  chief  difficulty  lay,  however,  with  the  young 

duchess  herself.     Pleading  her  betrothal  to   Maxi- 

y      ^  ^milian,   and  voluntarily  overlooking  the  fact   that, 

f^fffji       after  having  espoused  her  by  proxy,  he  had  never 

made  any  effort  to  remove  the  obstacles  which  had 

_,  prevented  their  definitive  union ;  and  that  his  age, 

^^'WVui  habits,  and  temper  were,  moreover,  in  complete  dis- 
cordance with  her  own ;  she  affected  to  cover  her 
distaste  to  the  alliance  now  offered  to  her  by  assert- 
ing her  determination  to  fulfil  the  pledge  that  she 
had  given.  But  Anne  was  ambitious  ;  and  ere  long 
she  remembered  that  the  frail  and  feeble  Charles 
VIII.  was  King  of  France,  Louis  d'Orleans  the 
husband  of  the  Princesse  Jeanne,  and  Maximilian 
lukewarm  and  in  the  decline  of  life.  Her  most 
zealous  friends  urged  her  to  accept  the  crown  which 
she  was  so  well  fitted  to  adorn  ;  and  ultimately  she 
consented  to  solicit  from  the  Pope  a  dispensation 
which  might  enable  her  to  yield  her  hand  to  the 
French  monarch. 

Shortly  after  her  marriage  with  Charles  VIII., 
which  took  place  with  great  pomp  at  Langeais,  she 
was  crowned  at  St.  Denis ;  and  her  exulting  hus- 
band then  conducted  her  to  Amboise,  to  which,  as 
his  birthplace,  he  was  exceedingly  attached,  and 
which  he  proposed  to  embellish.  An  expedition  to 
Italy,  whence  he  had  fondly  flattered  himself  that 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  13 

he  should  return  a  conqueror,  retarded,  however, 
the  execution  of  this  project ;  but  on  his  return  to 
France  he  hastened  to  put  it  into  execution  ;  various 
plans  were  submitted  to  him,  and  he  commenced  the 
construction  of  a  new  edifice  which  was  destined  to 
be  regal  in  its  decorations.  But  a  fatal  accident 
once  more  rendered  his  design  abortive.  As  he 
was  one  day  conducting  the  queen  to  the  tennis- 
court,  to  reach  which  it  was  necessary  to  traverse 
a  dark  and  low-roofed  gallery,  he  struck  his  head 
against  the  archway  of  a  door ;  and  although  he 
affected  to  treat  the  accident  lightly,  and  even  joined 
in  the  game,  it  soon  became  evident  that  he  had 
received  his  death-blow  ;  for  on  again  entering  the 
gallery  to  pass  into  his  apartments,  he  was  seized 
with  a  sudden  giddiness,  and  fell  to  the  ground 
senseless.  In  the  agitation  and  terror  of  the 
moment,  his  attendants  made  no  effort  to  remove 
him  from  the  close  and  gloomy  spot  where  he  had 
fallen,  but  laid  him  upon  a  squalid  mattress  which 
had  been  flung  down  there  by  some  menial  of  the 
castle,  and  on  which  he  expired  during  the  night 
in  his  twenty-eighth  year. 

The  frightful  nature  of  his  death  may  perhaps 
account  in  some  degree  for  the  excessive  grief 
displayed  by  the  queen  for  a  husband  of  whose 
infidelities  she  had  frequent  and  flagrant  proofs, 
and  whom  she  had  never  professed  to  love.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that,  as  if  in  order  to  render  her  affliction 
more  conspicuous,  she  assumed  the  deepest  sables 
as  her  mourning  garb,  although  white  had  hitherto 


14  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

been  the  habitual  dress  of  all  royal  widows  in 
France.  Despite  these  outward  demonstrations, 
however,  Anne  received  with  undisguised  pleasure 
the  consolations  tendered  to  her  by  the  new  king, 
through  the  medium  of  two  of  his  confidential 
nobles,  who  played  their  part  so  well  that  they 
mingled  their  tears  with  hers,  and  prepared  the 
way  for  their  royal  master,  who,  when  her  first 
burst  of  grief  had  subsided,  hastened  to  assure  her 
of  his  deep  sympathy  in  her  affliction.  By  his 
command,  and  at  his  cost,  a  funeral  service  of 
extraordinary  magnificence  was  celebrated  in  the 
chapel  of  Amboise  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of 
Charles  VIII.;  and  this  duty  was  no  sooner  per- 
formed than  he  endeavoured  to  turn  her  thoughts 
from  the  husband  whom  she  had  lost,  to  the  days 
in  which,  at  the  court  of  her  father,  they  had  first 
met,  and  yielded  to  an  attachment  which  neither 
had  yet  forgotten. 

"Obtain  the  dissolution  of  your  marriage  with 
Jeanne  de  France,"  had  ultimately  whispered  the 
new-made  widow,  "  and  I  abandon  my  hand  to 
you. 

Louis  XII.  needed  no  second  bidding  ;  and  while 
Anne  hastened  to  conceal  her  present  sorrows  and 
her  future  hopes  in  the  castle  of  Loches,  the  husband 
of  the  unhappy  Jeanne  took  instant  measures  for 
effecting  that  divorce  which  was  to  be  the  last  trial 
of  her  married  life. 

Only  nine  months  after  the  death  of  Charles, 
Csesar    Borgia,    the    nephew    of    Alexander    VI., 


FRANCIS    THE  FIRST 


15 


delivered  to  the  French  monarch  the  bull  by  which 
the  sovereign  pontiff  declared  null  and  void  the 
union  contracted  between  Louis  d'Orleans  and 
Jeanne  de  France ;  and  upon  its  receipt  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  marriage  was  publicly  announced  in  the 
church  of  St.  Denis  at  Amboise.  The  unfortunate 
daughter  of  Louis  XL,  whose  meek  virtues  and 
devoted  affection  had  been  unable  to  obtain  for  her 
the  heart  of  the  man  on  whom  she  had  been  taught 
to  look  from  her  earliest  childhood  as  the  companion 
and  protector  of  her  future  life,  roused  herself  from 
the  dejection  and  apathy  into  which  she  had  fallen, 
and  made  one  faint  struggle  while  the  divorce  was 
still  pending  to  maintain  her  right ;  but  she  was 
unable  to  contend  against  her  destiny ;  and  when 
the  fatal  dissolution  was  announced,  she  retired  to 
Bourges,  and  passed  the  remainder  of  her  life  in 
works  of  piety  and  benevolence.  Among  other 
good  deeds  she  founded  the  convent  of  the  Annun- 
ciation, visited  the  sick,  and  fed  the  hungry ;  and 
when,  in  1504,  she  breathed  out  her  peaceful  soul, 
her  body  was  followed  to  the  grave  by  the  tears  and 
blessings  of  the  poor. 

The  marriage  of  Anne  de  Bretagne  with  Louis 
XI L  followed  immediately  upon  the  divorce  which 
had  broken  the  heart  of  the  forsaken  Jeanne ;  but 
the  new  queen  did  not  revisit  Amboise  until  the 
following  year ;  when,  although  the  monarch  added 
to  its  attractions  by  the  vast  and  magnificent  planta- 
tion known  as  the  royal  garden,  and  made  other 
improvements  calculated  to  render  it  a  more  agree- 


y 


i6  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

able  residence  for  his  beautiful  and  idolized  wife, 
Anne  soon  discovered  that  she  had  too  many  dis- 
pleasing and  still  recent  memories  connected  with 
the  spot  willingly  to  become  its  habitual  occupant ; 
and  thus  the  royal  pair,  after  a  short  stay  in  the 
antique  castle,  abandoned  it,  and  held  their  court 
successively  at  Blois,  Loches,  Chinon,  and  Paris. 

The  second  marriage  of  Louis  XII.  was  the  first 
shadow  cast  over  the  brilliant  prospects  of  the  young 
Francis.  The  alleged  sterility  of  Jeanne  de  France, 
and  the  feeble  constitution  of  Charles  VI 1 1.,  had 
alike  tended  hitherto  to  raise  the  hopes  of  those 
who  were  interested  in  his  succession  to  the  throne ; 
but  those  hopes  now  became  much  less  sanguine  as 
they  reflected  that  Anne  de  Bretagne  was  not  only 
still  young,  but  also  tenderly  beloved  by  her  hus- 
band ;  and  that  there  was,  consequently,  every 
reason  to  anticipate  the  birth  of  a  dauphin.  Never- 
theless, the  queen  herself  looked  upon  the  heir- 
presumptive  with  a  jealous  eye ;  all  the  children 
whom  she  had  borne  to  Charles  had  died  in  their 
infancy,  and  the  continual  presence  of  the  young 
prince  at  Court  was  irksome  to  her.  i 

The  Comte  d'Angouleme  was  born  at  Coignac 
on  the  1 2th  of  September,  1494,  an  event  which 
Louise  de  Savoie,^  his  mother,  has  recorded,  in  her 
somewhat  heterogeneous  journal,  with  true  maternal 
exultation.^    He  was  only  two  years  of  age  when  he 

^  Louise  de  Savoie  was  the  daughter  of  Phillipe,  Due  de  Savoie, 
and  Marguerite  de  Bourbon.  She  was  born  at  Bresse,  in  1476,  and 
in  I488married  Charles  d'Orleans,  Due  d'Angouleme.   Shediedin  i  532. 

2  This  journal,  which,  brief  and  unsatisfactory  as  it  is,  yet  contains 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  17 

lost  his  father,  and  became  the  ward  of  his  kinsman, 
the  Due  d'Orleans,  who  at  once  evinced  the  sincer- 
ity of  his  affection  for  his  young  charge  by  selecting 
as  his  tutor  the  learned  Artus  de  Gouffier  Boisy,  a 
gentleman  of  Poitou,  who  laboured  assiduously  to 
render  both  the  mind  and  character  of  the  boy-prince 
worthy  of  the  eminent  station  which  he  might  one 
day  be  called  upon  to  fill.  Madame  d'Angouleme 
had  passed  the  first  years  of  her  widowhood  at 
Romorantin,  where  she  devoted  herself  to  the 
education  of  her  son  Francis  and  her  daughter 
Marguerite ;  until  she  was  summoned  to  the  Court 
by  the  monarch,  who  was  anxious  to  promote  a  close 
friendship  between  his  queen  and  the  mother  of  his 
young  ward.  In  this  endeavour,  however,  he  sig- 
nally failed.  Anne  de  Bretagne  and  Louise  de 
Savoie  had  too  many  conflicting  jealousies  at  heart 
long  to  maintain  even  the  semblance  of  friendship. 
Both  were  young,  both  eminently  beautiful,  and 
both  eager  to  give  a  king  to  France ;  and  thus  a 

some  important  statistical  facts,  was  discovered  in  the  original  MS. 
by  a  monk  named  Hilarion  de  Costa,  in  the  hbrary  of  M.  de  Hardy, 
a  counsellor  of  the  Chatelet,  by  whom  it  was  given  to  M.  Guichenon. 
The  latter  gentleman  published  it,  among  other  papers  of  interest, 
at  the  termination  of  his  Histoire  Genealogique  de  la  Maison  de 
Savoie;  and  the  Abbd  Lambert  subsequently  appended  it  to  his 
translation  of  the  Memoires  de  Dii-Bellay,  in  1753. 

One  of  the  entries  which  it  contains  is  so  startling,  and,  were  it 
not  that  the  subject  is  unfitted  for  a  jest,  would  be  so  ludicrous,  that 
it  must  not  be  passed  over  without  notice ;  particularly  as  the  moral 
character  of  the  princess,  when  placed  in  juxtaposition  with  her  office, 
renders  the  whole  transaction  doubly  disgraceful ;  and  exposes,  in  a 
marked  manner,  the  venality  and  corruption  of  the  Romish  Church. 
We  give  it  in  the  original ; — "  L'an  15 19,  le  5  Juillet,  fr^re  Francois 
de  Paule,  des  freres  mendians  evangdlistes,  fut  par  moi  canonise  ;  a 
tout  le  moins,  j'en  ai  pay^  la  taxe."     All  comment  would  be  idle. 

VOL.  I  .7  2 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


mutual  distrust  and  dislike  was  engendered,  which 
ere  long  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
mutually  threw  off  all  disguise,  and  harassed  alike 
the  sovereign  and  his  ministers  by  the  cabals  into 
which  they  entered.  Time,  instead  of  softening, 
served  only  to  increase  this  unhappy  animosity;  and 
on  the  successive  death  of  two  infant  sons,  in  each 
of  whom  Anne  had  for  a  few  brief  weeks  fondly 
believed  that  she  beheld  the  inheritor  of  the  French 
crown,  the  exultation  of  Louise  was  so  unbounded 
as  to  assume  the  character  of  insult ;  while  the  queen, 
irritated  by  a  display  of  triumph  which  doubled  the 
bitterness  of  her  disappointment,  became  only  more 
confirmed  in  her  hatred  of  both  mother  and  son. 

Under  these  circumstances  Louis  XI L  resolved 
to  withdraw  Madame  d'Angouleme  once  more  from 
the  Court ;  and  in  the  year  1 504  he  appointed 
Amboise  as  her  place  of  residence,  and  confided  to 
Pierre  de  Rohan,  Marechal  de  Gie,  whom  he  greatly 
esteemed,  the  important  office  of  governor  to  the 
young  prince.^ 

The  selection  was  a  happy  one,  as,  during  his 
sojourn  in  Italy,  when  general  of  the  king's  armies, 
M.  de  Gie  had  devoted  himself  to  literature  and  the 
arts ;  which,  together  with  his  other  manly  accom- 

1  Pierre  de  Rohan,  Seigneur  de  Gi^,  was  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful nobles  at  the  Court  of  Louis  XI.,  who  created  him  Marshal  of 
France  in  1475.  He  governed  the  kingdom  conjointly  with  three 
other  individuals  of  high  rank  during  the  dangerous  illness  of  that 
monarch  at  Chinon,  and  commanded  the  vanguard  of  the  army  at 
the  battle  of  Fornoue  in  1495.  Louis  XIL  appointed  him  Chief  of 
the  Council,  Lieutenant-general  in  Brittany,  and  General  of  his  forces 
in  Italy.     He  was  also  Commandant  of  Anjou  and  Amboise. 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  19 

plishments,  had  conduced  to  render  him  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  nobles  of  the  age.  He  was, 
moreover,  the  descendant  of  one  of  the  first  families 
of  Brittany,  very  wealthy,  and  celebrated  for  the 
loyalty  and  frankness  of  his  character.  Under  the 
guidance  of  such  a  man  as  Pierre  de  Rohan,  Louis 
felt  assured  that  his  ward  would  never  suffer  from 
the  want  of  his  own  superintendence ;  and  the  result 
justified  his  confidence  ;  for  the  zealous  efforts  of  the 
governor  were  soon  apparent  in  the  rapid  progress 
of  the  pupil,  who  under  his  auspices  imbibed  that 
refinement  of  taste  and  that  manly  bearing  for 
which  he  was  afterwards  so  famous.  Not  content, 
however,  with  making  him  a  scholar,  M.  de  Gie 
sought  also  to  correct  the  defects  of  the  young 
prince ;  and  early  observant  of  the  impetuosity  of 
his  character,  as  well  as  the  quickness  of  his  intellect, 
he  spared  no  pains  to  inculcate  the  necessity  of  his 
acquiring  that  most  difficult  of  all  lessons,  the  art  of 
self-government. 

As  regarded  his  martial  exercises,  Francis  required 
little  tuition  ;  for,  addicted  from  his  earliest  boyhood 
to  manly  and  chivalrous  pastimes,  and  gifted  by 
nature  with  a  person  at  once  tall,  robust,  and  grace- 
ful, he  soon  excelled  all  his  companions,  alike  in 
brilliant  horsemanship  and  in  the  use  of  weapons  of 
every  description  ;  while,  by  his  natural  cheerfulness, 
urbanity,  and  frankness  of  deportment,  he  effectually 
secured  the  affection  of  the  friends  of  his  boyhood, 
who  subsequently  became  alike  the  ornament  and 
the  support  of  his  throne. 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


Unfortunately,  while  devoting  himself  to  the 
education  of  his  royal  pupil,  the  marechal  suffered 
himself  to  be  captivated  by  the  attractions  of 
Madame  d'Angouleme,  who,  far  from  scrupulous  in 
her  conduct,  encouraged  his  evident  admiration  by 
her  coquettish  blandishments.  It  is  probable  that 
Louise  de  Savoie,  deprived  in  her  honourable  exile  of 
those  opportunities  of  seduction  of  which  she  was  so 
perfect  a  mistress,  did  not  reflect  upon  the  possible 
consequences  of  her  imprudence  upon  the  mind  and 
heart  of  such  a  man  as  the  Marechal  de  Gie ;  for  it 
is  certain  that  she  sought  only  to  beguile  the  time 
which  hung  so  heavily  upon  her  hands  when  she 
suffered  him  to  believe  that  he  was  daily  possessing 
himself  of  her  affections,  and  had  no  inclination  to 
return  a  passion  which  she  regarded  only  with  con- 
tempt. Thus  the  deluded  noble  was  ultimately 
beguiled  into  a  declaration,  which  was  repulsed  with 
a  disdain  so  haughty  and  so  undisguised,  that  he 
uttered  an  internal  vow  that  the  scornful  princess 
should  one  day  bitterly  repent  the  indignity  which 
she  had  cast  upon  him. 

Just  at  this  juncture  a  letter  reached  the  castle 
informing  M.  de  Gie  that  the  Court  had  left  Chinon 
for  Blois,  and  would  remain  for  a  few  days  at 
Amboise  ;  upon  which  the  marechal  gave  the  neces- 
sary orders,  and  then,  with  his  accustomed  deference, 
hastened  to  communicate  the  king's  intention  to 
Madame  d'Angouleme,  whom  he  did  not  again 
meet  until  the  arrival  of  the  king  and  queen,  with 
their  brilliant  retinue. 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  21 

/  Anne  de  Bretagne  was  the  first  female  sovereign 
of  France  who  had  ever  conceived  the  idea  of 
enhancing  her  dignity  by  the  formation  of  a  re- 
gularly organized  household  of  ladies  ;  and  Bran- 
t6me  expatiates  with  enthusiasm  upon  this  novel 
addition  to  the  Court  circle,  so  well  calculated  to 
increase  the  attraction  of  those  receptions  where 
heretofore  all  had  been  stately  tedium ;  while  he 
also  asserts  that  so  earnest  was  Anne  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  her  object,  that  she  never  refused  to 
admit  into  her  service  any  dame  or  damsel  who  was 
authorized  to  aspire  to  it  by  gentle  birth  ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  frequently  questioned  the  nobles  by 
whom  she  was  approached  as  to  the  extent  of  their 
families,  and  authorized  them  to  invite  their  wives 
or  daughters  in  her  name  to  join  the  royal  suite. 
Thus  she  soon  accumulated  a  train  of  eight  and 
twenty  maids-of-honour,  at  salaries  varying  from 
thirty-five  to  one  hundred  annual  livres ;  and  six- 
teen ladies,  either  princesses  or  the  wives  of  men 
of  the  highest  quality  in  the  kingdom,  all  of  whom 
were  likewise  salaried  ;  and  her  court  soon  became 
the  school  in  which  the  noble  youth  of  both  sexes, 
who  were  permitted  to  study  it,  sought  to  fashion 
themselves. 

Nor  did  even  this  new  splendour  satisfy  the 
magnificent  tastes  of  Anne,  who  felt  that  while 
she  was  thus  increasing  her  own  personal  conse- 
quence, she  was  at  the  same  time  humiliating  her 
haughty  rival,  Louise  de  Savoie ;  for  her  female 
circle  was  no  sooner  organized  than  she  asked  and 


22  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

obtained  of  the  king  that  she  should  be  permitted 
to  increase  the  number  of  the  bodyguard  which  he 
had  already  conceded  to  her  to  two  hundred ;  most 
of  whom  were  well-born  gentlemen  of  Brittany,  who 
were  accustomed,  when  she  left  the  palace  of  Blois, 
either  to  attend  mass  or,  for  the  purpose  of  exercise, 
to  await  her  upon  the  terrace,  which  was  accord- 
ingly soon  known  as  the  "  Bretons'  Perch,"  from 
the  fact  that  when  she  reached  the  door  which  led 
to  her  apartments,  she  never  failed  to  remark, 
"  There  are  my  Bretons  on  their  perch  awaiting 
me. 

Thus  brilliantly  attended  did  she  arrive  at  the 
castle  of  Amboise ;  and  among  her  graceful  suite 
two  lovely  young  princesses  were  equally  con- 
spicuous— the  one  was  Germaine  de  Foix,  the 
niece  of  the  king,  and  the  sister  of  the  brave  and 
accomplished  Gaston,  who  perished  in  the  bloom 
of  youth  at  the  battle  of  Ravenna ;  and  the  other 
Suzanne  de  Bourbon,  the  only  child  of  Anne  de 
France  and  the  Sire  de  Beaujeu. 

The  train  of  the  king  was  less  numerous,  as  most 
of  the  young  nobles  who  were  of  an  age  to  en- 
counter the  fatigues  of  a  campaign  had  sought  and 
obtained  permission  to  join  the  army  in  Italy,  where 
Louis  still  maintained  the  disastrous  struggle  which 
had  been  commenced  by  his  predecessor  Charles 
VIII. 

Nevertheless,  he  numbered  in  his  retinue  more 
than  one  scion  of  the  most  illustrious  families  of 
France  ;   among   others    the   Due  d'Alencon,   then 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  23 

considered  as  the  future  husband  of  Mademoiselle 
de  Bourbon,  but  who  subsequently  married  Mar- 
guerite d'Angouleme,  the  sister  of  Francis ;  the 
Comte  Charles  de  Montpensier ;  ^  M.  de  Van- 
denesse,^  the  younger  brother  of  the  Marquis  de 
la  Palice ;  ^  and  Guillaume  Gouffier,  Seigneur  de 
Bonnivet.^ 

M.  de  Gie  had  arranged  a  series  of  festivities 
for  the  amusement  of  the  Court  during  their  re- 
sidence at  Amboise,  but  the  health  of  the  king 
had  become  so  much  shaken  by  the  unfavourable 
intelligence  which  daily  reached  him  from  Italy, 
and  by  the  obstinate  opposition  of  Anne  to  various 
resolutions  with   which  a  wise  policy  had  inspired 


^  1  Charles  de  Montpensier,  Due  de  Bourbon,  afterwards  so  cele- 
brated as  Connetable  de  Bourbon,  was  the  second  son  of  Gilbert, 
Comte  de  Montpensier,  and  was  born  in  1489.  He  was  made 
Constable  in  1 5 1 5,  and  subsequently  became  Viceroy  of  Milan. 
He  acquired  great  renown  at  the  battle  of  Marignano  ;  but,  com- 
pelled by  the  injustice  of  the  queen-mother,  who  disputed  his  claim 
to  his  domains,  to  leave  France,  he  offered  his  services  to  Charles  V., 
and  commanded  his  forces  during  the  wars  of  Italy.  He  was  killed 
in  1527,  at  the  siege  of  Rome,  and  died  without  issue. 

2  Jean  de'  Chabannes,  Seigneur  de  Vandenesse,  who  was  sub- 
sequently captain  of  a  thousand  foot  soldiers  at  the  battle  of  Ravenna. 
He  was  killed  at  the  retreat  of  Rebec. 

2  Jacques  de  Chabannes,  Seigneur  de  la  Palice,  Mardchal  de 
France,  Governor  of  Bourbon,  Auvergne,  Forez,  Beaujolais,  and 
Lyons,  was  the  most  distinguished  member  of  a  family  celebrated 
for  the  number  of  great  men  which  it  has  produced,  and  one  of  the 
most  renowned  generals  of  his  time.  He  served  in  Italy  under  both 
Charles  VIII.  and  Louis  XII.,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Pavia 
in  1525. 

*  Guillaume  Gouffier,  Seigneur  de  Bonnivet,  was  subsequently 
Admiral  of  France,  and  General-in-chief  of  the  armies  of  Francis  I. 
in  Italy.  He  distinguished  himself  in  several  engagements ;  but 
having,  by  his  imprudence,  caused  the  loss  of  the  battle  of  Pavia, 
he  threw  himself  in  despair  into  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  and  was 
killed. 


24  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

him,  that  he  was  incapable  of  the  exertion  which 
they  would  have  required.  Devotedly  attached 
to  her  person,  he  had  accustomed  himself  to  yield 
to  her  wishes,  not  only  in  every  instance  wherein 
she  considered  that  her  personal  interests  or  dignity 
as  queen  of  France  were  in  any  way  involved, 
but  even  on  points  of  more  importance ;  and  so 
anxious  had  he  shown  himself  to  maintain  by  every 
means  in  his  power  the  respect  and  deference 
which  he  considered  as  her  due,  that  no  ambas- 
sador or  foreigner  of  rank  who  visited  the  Court, 
after  he  had  been  received  by  the  king  himself, 
was  exempted  from  the  necessity  of  proceeding 
at  once  to  the  queen's  apartments  with  the  same 
ceremony,  in  order  that  it  might  be  understood 
how  completely  he  identified  her  in  all  the  honours 
of  his  own  regality. 

Naturally  arrogant  and  ambitious,  this  new  in- 
novation upon  the  accustomed  etiquette  of  the 
Court  sufficed  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  her  self- 
appreciation  ;  but  the  measure,  nevertheless,  proved 
to  be  one  of  sound  policy ;  for  the  extreme  grace 
and  courtesy  of  manner  which  distinguished  Anne 
de  Bretagne,  coupled  with  an  erudition  which,  if 
it  failed  to  be  profound,  was  at  least  remarkable 
at  that  period,  and  a  superficial  knowledge  of 
several  languages,  in  which  she  constantly  laboured 
to  perfect  herself,  enabled  her  to  address  the 
various  strangers  who  presented  themselves  in 
their  own  native  idiom ;  and  thus  to  secure  to 
herself   a    popularity    which    increased    the   charm 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  2$ 

of   her    conversation,    and    admirably   assisted   her 
views. 

Although  she  had  lost  her  sons  she  had  become 
the  mother  of  a  princess,  whom  Louis  was  anxious 
to  affiance  to  the  young  Comte  d'Angouleme,  his 
heir-presumptive ;  but  this  project  met  with  the 
most  resolute  opposition  on  her  part.  Duchesse  de 
Bretagne  in  her  own  right,  and  permitted,  through 
the  affectionate  indulgence  of  her  royal  husband,  an 
absolute  control  over  all  the  affairs  of  the  duchy,  she 
openly  avowed  her  desire  to  render  it  an  independent 
government ;  and,  probably  instigated  as  much  by 
her  dislike  of  the  Comtesse  d'Angouleme  as  by  any 
political  consideration,  she  was  no  sooner  made 
aware  that  Louis  was  already  meditating  a  marriage 
for  the  infant  princess  than  she  proceeded  to  nego- 
tiate an  alliance  with  the  Due  de  Luxembourg,  the 
grandson  of  the  Archduke  Maximilian,  to  whom  she 
had  herself  been  betrothed,  and  of  which  the  princi- 
pal condition  was  to  be  the  cession  of  Brittany  as  a 
portion  of  the  bride's  dowry.  The  monarch,  actu- 
ated at  once  by  his  affection  for  his  consort,  which 
rendered  him  averse  to  oppose  her  wishes,  and  by 
his  desire  not  to  aggravate  the  animosity  between 
herself  and  Louise  de  Savoie,  suffered  the  negotiation 
to  proceed,  and  thus  encouraged  her  to  interfere  in 
the  differences  which  existed  between  himself  and 
Pope  Julius  n.  Anne,  who  was  deeply  tinctured 
with  the  superstition  of  the  time,  affected,  or  perhaps 
felt,  the  greatest  horror  upon  seeing  her  husband  in 
open  animosity  against  the  sovereign-pontiff;   and 


26  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

regardless  of  the  fact  that  Julius  was  the  enemy  of 
the  king  and  the  sworn  foe  of  France,  she  so  warmly 
and  pertinaciously  supported  the  cause  of  the  Holy 
See  that  Louis  was  once  surprised  into  exclaiming, 
"  By  heaven !  my  Breton  dame,  any  one,  to  hear 
you  so  decidedly  condemn  what  the  most  celebrated 
universities  have  approved,  would  imagine  that  you 
esteem  yourself  more  learned  than  the  age  !  Have 
your  confessors  never  told  you  that  women  have  no 
voice  in  the  Church  ?  " 

The  reproof  came,  however,  too  late.  Anne  had 
become  accustomed  to  follow  the  dictates  of  her  own 
will,  and  notwithstanding  this  remonstrance  she 
availed  herself  of  her  right  of  sovereignty  over 
Brittany,  which  was  secured  to  her  by  her  marriage 
contract,  to  forbid  the  attendance  of  all  the  bishops 
of  that  province  at  the  council  which  was  about  to 
assemble  at  Pisa,  with  intentions  evidently  hostile  to 
Julius.  Addicted  both  to  political  and  social  in- 
trigue, she  seldom  suffered  either  to  become  con- 
spicuous ;  and  it  was  only  when  her  pride  or  her 
vanity  was  outraged  that  she  was  betrayed  into  a 
vehemence  that  revealed  the  true  extent  of  the  pas- 
sions by  which  she  was  governed. 

On  the  departure  of  the  Court  from  Amboise,  the 
king,  at  the  request  of  Madame  d'Angouleme  (who 
had  fulfilled  her  duties  of  hostess  with  a  composure 
and  courtesy  which  considerably  diminished  the 
anticipated  triumph  of  the  queen),  consented  to 
leave  at  the  castle  three  of  the  young  nobles  of  his 
suite  as  companions  to  her  son.     These  were  Charles 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  vj 

de  Montpensier,  Guillaume  de  Gouffier,  and  M.  de 
Vandenesse.  The  latter,  by  his  handsome  person 
and  courtly  manners,  had  attracted  the  attention  of 
Louise  de  Savoie,  and  in  her  desire  to  retain  him  at 
Amboise  had  originated  the  idea  of  making  this 
application. 

Of  the  new  inmates  of  the  castle,  all  of  whom 
were  several  years  older  than  the  young  count, 
Francis  soon  learned  to  prefer  Gouffier,  whose  joy- 
ous temperament  and  supple  nature  admirably 
adapted  him  for  the  companionship  of  princes.  The 
proud,  self-centred,  and  reserved  temper  of  Charles 
de  Montpensier  at  once  chilled  and  irritated  him  ; 
while  de  Vandenesse  appeared  engrossed  rather  by 
his  mother  than  himself. 

The  only  person  towards  whom  Charles  de 
Montpensier  wholly  unbent  was  Mademoiselle 
d'Angouleme.  Although  she  had  scarcely  attained 
her  thirteenth  year,  her  grace,  intellect,  and  acquire- 
ments were  remarkable,  and  ere  long  the  heart  of 
the  proud  and  reserved  young  noble  was  at  her  feet. 
Two  years  the  senior  of  Francis,  she  was  born  on 
the  nth  of  April  1492  in  the  old  castle  of  the  city 
of  Angouleme.  The  early  death  of  her  father 
affected  her  interests  but  little,  as,  although  "one  of 
the  best  men  among  the  princes  of  the  blood," 
according  to  the  declaration  of  Charles  VIII.,  he 
committed  the  education  of  his  children  entirely  to 
his  wife,  whose  stronger  mind  and  higher  attain- 
ments rendered  her  more  competent  to  such  a 
charge.     The  nurture  of  the  young  and  beautiful 


28  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

and  high-spirited  Marguerite  differed  in  almost 
every  particular  from  that  of  the  pious  and  gentle 
Claude,  whom  Anne  de  Bretagne  was  rearing  in  the 
most  absolute  seclusion.  The  audacious,  unscrupu- 
lous, and  ambitious  spirit  of  Louise  de  Savoie  did 
not  even  seek  to  leaven  itself  by  religion  ;  and  thus 
the  atmosphere  breathed  by  the  young  countess 
from  her  earliest  girlhood  was  redolent  of  gallantry, 
pleasure,  and  intrigue.  Nature  had  richly  endowed 
her  both  in  mind  and  person,  and  the  extraordinary 
aptitude  and  perseverance  with  which  she  devoted 
herself  to  study  even  from  her  infancy  was  probably 
her  best  safeguard  against  corruption.  As  she 
emerged  from  girlhood  her  proficiency  as  a  linguist 
excited  universal  astonishment,  while  in  philosophy 
and  poetry  she  delighted ;  and  such  of  her  composi- 
tions as  are  still  in  existence,  however  grievously 
and  painfully  they  may  be  wanting  in  morality,  are 
yet  distinguished  by  an  ease  and  grace  of  expression 
which  contrasts  in  a  marked  manner  with  the  inflated 
and  extravagant  style  of  contemporary  writers. 

The  mutual  affection  which  subsisted  between 
herself  and  her  brother  became  a  proverb  among  all 
who  witnessed  it.  The  whole  soul  of  the  boy-count 
appeared  to  be  wrapped  up  in  his  graceful  and 
richly  endowed  sister,  to  whom  he  referred  his 
tastes,  his  wishes,  and  his  pursuits  ;  while,  on  her 
side.  Marguerite  guided  him  by  her  counsels, 
assisted  him  by  her  riper  attainments,  and  glad- 
dened him  by  her  love.  Both  in  person  and  in 
mind  they   resembled  each  other  greatly :  in  each 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  29 

existed  the  same  marked  and  commanding  features, 
the  same  quickness  of  intellect,  and  the  same  thirst 
for  knowledge.  Nor  were  they  less  similar  in  their 
love  of  pleasure,  and  we  use  the  word  in  its  most 
comprehensive  sense.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that 
Francis  idolized  his  sister,  whom  he  was  accustomed 
to  call  his  pet,  the  Marguerite  of  Marguerites,  and 
the  pearl  beyond  price. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  caution  of  Montpensier 
the  secret  of  his  attachment  for  Mademoiselle 
d'Angouleme  was  soon  discovered  by  Gouffier,  who 
had  become  equally  enslaved  by  her  attractions ; 
and  from  that  moment  commenced  a  hatred  between 
the  two  young  nobles  which  was  destined  to  endure 
throughout  their  lives.  Marguerite,  still  a  mere  girl, 
and  hitherto  engrossed  by  her  studies,  knew  nothing 
of  love  save  in  theory,  and  was  consequently  some 
time  ere  she  was  able  fully  to  comprehend  the  devo- 
tion of  the  Comte  Charles ;  but  she  had  no  sooner 
done  so  than  she  returned  his  passion  with  all  the 
ardour  of  her  young  and  guileless  heart.  With  the 
natural  timidity  of  an  inexperienced  girl  she,  how- 
ever, shrank  from  confiding  the  state  of  her  newly- 
awakened  feelings  to  her  boy-brother,  who,  instigated 
by  Gouffier,  his  favourite  companion,  soon  evinced 
a  decided  distaste  to  the  young  Montpensier,  which 
at  length  obtained  such  a  mastery  over  him  that, 
after  a  quarrel  in  the  tennis-court,  Francis,  whose 
warlike  temper  revealed  itself  upon  all  occasions, 
declared  his  determination  to  meet  him  in  single 
combat ;   nor  was  it  without  considerable  difficulty 


30  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

that  M.  de  Gie  succeeded  in  calming  him.  The 
habitual  authority  of  the  marechal  over  the  proud 
spirit  of  the  prince  assured  him,  however,  of  an 
ultimate,  even  if  a  hardly-won  triumph  ;  but  it  was 
far  otherwise  when  he  sought  to  pacify  Charles  de 
Montpensier,  who,  although  infinitely  less  demon- 
strative in  his  indignation  than  his  antagonist,  felt 
far  more  deeply.  He  replied  briefly  to  the  expostu- 
lations of  M.  de  Gie,  evinced  no  disposition  to  make 
the  slightest  concession,  and,  after  having  asked  a 
parting  interview  with  Madame  d'Angouleme  and 
her  gifted  daughter,  left  the  castle  the  same  day ; 
but  instead  of  proceeding  to  Blois,  where  the  king 
almost  immediately  upon  his  arrival  had  complained 
of  serious  indisposition,  he  at  once  directed  his  steps 
to  Paris,  where  he  rejoined  his  relative  and  god- 
mother, Madame  de  Bourbon,  from  whom  he  had 
been  separated  when  the  Court  left  Amboise. 

His  sudden  and  abrupt  departure  inflicted  upon 
Marguerite  the  first  heart-pang  that  she  had  ever 
experienced ;  but  by  her  mother  it  was  scarcely  re- 
membered beyond  the  hour.  The  passion  which 
Louise  de  Savoie  had  permitted  herself  to  encourage 
for  M.  de  Vandenesse  had  created  an  ideal  world 
about  her  which  shut  out  all  that  it  did  not  involve 
within  its  own  vortex ;  while  the  young  noble, 
flattered  by  the  love  of  so  great  and  handsome  a 
princess,  not  content  with  the  favours  which  she 
lavished  upon  him,  had  the  extreme  imprudence  to 
assume  her  colours,  and,  discarding  the  gray  and 
green  in  which  he  had  formerly  appeared,  to  assume 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  31 

the  blue  and  silver  in  which  she  usually  attired  her- 
self. This  change  did  not  escape  the  keen  eye  of 
the  marechal,  who  felt  that  his  hour  of  revenge  was 
come ;  and  he  accordingly  kept  so  strict  a  watch 
upon  the  movements  of  his  favoured  rival  that  he  at 
length  surprised  him  as  he  was  stealthily  making  his 
way  through  an  obscure  gallery  which  led  to  the 
apartments  of  Madame  d'Angouleme. 

"  Sir,"  said  the  vigilant  M.  de  Gie  sarcastically, 
"  I  am  aware  that  this  corridor  leads  only  to  the 
chambers  occupied  by  the  female  attendants  of  the 
countess ;  I  will  not,  therefore,  demand  to  know,  as 
I  have  every  right  to  do  in  my  capacity  of  governor 
of  this  castle,  upon  what  errand  you  are  bound  at  so 
unusual  an  hour.  I  will  confine  myself  simply  to 
the  request  that  you  will  immediately  retrace  your 
steps,  and  leave  Amboise  by  dawn  to-morrow,  as  I 
can  allow  no  one  to  remain  within  these  walls  whose 
example  may  prove  pernicious  to  my  royal  pupil." 

M.  de  Vandenesse,  fearing  to  compromise  the 
princess  by  a  resistance  which  would,  moreover, 
have  proved  useless,  as  he  could  not  successfully 
contend  against  the  official  authority  of  the  mare- 
chal, made  no  reply ;  but,  bowing  respectfully, 
returned  to  his  own  chamber,  where,  having  sum- 
moned his  valet  and  made  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments, he  remained  until  daylight,  when  he  mounted 
and  rode  from  the  castle  of  Amboise  without  even 
having  an  opportunity  of  paying  his  parting  respects 
to  his  late  hostess. 

Louise  de  Savoie,  on  ascertaining   the   hurried 


32  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

and  unceremonious  departure  of  the  young  noble, 
was  instantly  convinced  that  he  had  retired  at  the 
instigation  of  M.  de  Gie,  who  had  thus  seized  the 
first  opportunity  of  revenge  for  his  own  dismissal ; 
and  even  amid  the  bitterness  of  her  annoyance  she 
smiled  as  she  reflected  that  the  time  might  yet  come 
when  she  would  make  him  rue  his  interference  ;  nor 
did  she  once  condescend  to  allude  to  the  circum- 
stance. Madame  d'Angouleme,  unlike  the  gene- 
rality of  her  sex,  rarely  sought  her  vengeance  in 
words. 

The  malady  of  the  king  soon  assumed  the  most 
alarming  aspect ;  and  as,  notwithstanding  her  habi- 
tual self-sufficiency,  Anne  de  Bretagne  was  by  no 
means  insensible  to  the  affection  which  her  royal 
husband  had  so  constantly  lavished  upon  her,  she 
devoted  herself  to  him  in  this  emergency  with  the 
most  exemplary  solicitude,  seldom  absenting  herself 
from  the  sickroom  save  when  compelled  to  do  so 
by  her  public  duties.  For  a  time,  however,  her 
cares  were  vain.  The  disease  daily  acquired 
strength  ;  and  the  Court  physicians  at  length  reluc- 
tantly confessed  their  inability  to  arrest  its  progress. 
This  declaration  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the 
anxious  queen.  At  one  glance  she  saw  and  appre- 
ciated all  the  difficulty  of  her  position  when  Louise 
de  Savoie  should  become  the  mother  of  the  reigning 
monarch  ;  and,  resolved  not  to  subject  herself  to  the 
insults  of  a  triumphant  enemy,  she  determined  to 
retire  into  Brittany  the  moment  that  the  king  had 
ceased  to  live ;    as  there  she  could  still  maintain 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  33 

her  sovereign  state,  and  enjoy  the  undivided  power 
which  had  always  been  the  dream  of  her  ambition. 
Thus,  while  she  still  continued  to  bestow  the  most 
affectionate  attentions  upon  her  royal  consort,  his 
apparently  desperate  condition  by  no  means  ab- 
sorbed the  whole  of  her  reflections ;  and  she  lost 
no  time  in  causing  all  her  most  costly  furniture, 
jewels,  and  every  other  article  of  value  which,  from 
having  been  devoted  to  her  use  she  considered  as 
her  own  property,  to  be  hastily  packed  up,  and 
despatched  to  Nantes  by  the  Loire. 

"  By  St.  Yves  !  "  exclaimed  the  indignant  Mare- 
chal  de  Gie,  when  he  learnt  the  somewhat  prema- 
ture measures  adopted  by  Anne,  "  the  Breton  Dame 
never  loses  her  wits  where  her  interests  are  con- 
cerned, but,  vrai  Dieu  !  I  will  show  her  that  I  am 
Breton  too,  and  that  I  know  how  to  perform  the 
duties  of  the  office  that  has  been  entrusted  to  me. 
She  is  a  trifle  too  hasty  in  her  movements,  and  has 
acted  like  the  wife  of  a  trader  rather  than  that  of  a 
great  monarch.  Our  good  and  well-beloved  king 
and  master  is  not  yet,  perhaps,  upon  his  deathbed, 
as  she  imagines ;  and  it  is  somewhat  of  the  earliest 
for  Madame  la  Reine  to  remove,  upon  her  own 
authority,  and  from  the  royal  palaces,  effects  which 
the  successor  of  her  husband  may  reclaim  as  the 
property  of  the  crown." 

These  impolitic  and  somewhat  intemperate  words 
were,  unfortunately  for  the  fiery  Pierre  de  Rohan, 
uttered  in  the  presence  of  several  individuals ;  and, 
among  .others,   in    that    of   Madame   d'Angouleme 

VOL.  I  3 


34  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

and  M.  de  Pontbriant,  the  chamberlain  of  the  young 
prince ;  but,  as  his  zeal  had  been  awakened  by  his 
anxiety  to  protect  the  interests  of  his  pupil,  and 
Pontbriant  was  his  protigd,  and  indebted  to  him  for 
the  very  appointment  which  he  then  held,  M.  de 
Gi6  could  not  anticipate  that  either  would  be  guilty 
of  a  breach  of  trust. 

His  threat  was  speedily  followed  up,  for,  leaving 
the  apartment  with  the  mien  of  a  chafed  lion,  he 
gave  immediate  orders  for  stopping  the  boats  which 
the  queen  had  freighted  upon  their  passage ;  but 
he  had  received  his  information  too  late  to  render 
this  practicable,  as  they  had  passed  Amboise  before 
the  news  reached  him ;  when,  resolved  not  to  be 
thwarted  in  his  design,  he  no  sooner  ascertained  the 
fact  than  he  despatched  his  mounted  men-at-arms  to 
seize  their  lading  at  Namur.  The  haughty  spirit  of 
the  queen,  on  being  apprised  of  this  bold  proceed- 
ing, was  instantly  aroused  ;  and  when,  contrary  to 
all  expectation,  Louis  XII.  began  slowly  to  recover 
from  his  malady,  she  availed  herself  of  the  increased 
influence  which  she  had  obtained  over  him  during 
his  sufferings  to  represent  the  conduct  of  the 
governor  of  Amboise  in  the  darkest  colours ;  care- 
fully avoiding  the  main  subject  of  her  displeasure, 
and  basing  her  accusations  upon  the  fact  that  the 
mar^chal  had  indulged  in  insulting  reflections,  not 
only  upon  herself  personally,  but  also  upon  the 
king,  and  treated  with  contemptuous  disapproba- 
tion many  public  acts  of  his  government.  The 
great  regard  which   Louis  had  long  felt  for  M.  de 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  35 

Gie  rendered  him  reluctant  to  give  credence  to  this 
report ;  but  Anne  met  his  doubts  by  affirming  that 
she  could  produce  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  what 
she  had  advanced ;  and  thus  the  king  found  him- 
self compelled  to  put  the  marechal  upon  his  trial. 

Numerous  witnesses  appeared  against  him  when 
he  was  cited  before  the  parliament  of  Toulouse  on 
the  charge  of  lese-majestd;  and  among  the  rest, 
Madame  d'Angouleme,  who,  in  her  thirst  for  ven- 
geance, was  arrested  neither  by  the  consideration 
that  the  marechal  had  fallen  under  the  displeasure 
of  Anne  in  order  to  protect  the  interests  of  her  own 
son,  nor  even  by  the  fact  that  in  her  eagerness  to 
injure  M.  de  Gie  she  was  furthering  the  views  of 
a  woman  whom  she  hated. 

The  marechal  treated  alike  the  accusation  and 
the  witnesses  with  haughty  contempt ;  and  the  only 
reproach  which  he  uttered  to  Louise  de  Savoie, 
when  he  perceived  that  the  most  virulent  of  his 
accusers  were  herself  and  Pontbriant,  was  contained 
in  words  which  cannot  fail  to  remind  the  reader  of 
the  dying  exclamation  of  Wolsey  :  "  And  you  too, 
Madame  ?  Had  I  only  served  my  God  as  I  have 
served  you  I  should  have  little  to  regret  upon  my 
deathbed." 

After  numerous  deliberations  and  delays  the 
parliament  ultimately  acquitted  M.  de  Gie  of  the 
crime  of  lese-majesty,  but,  by  a  singular  inconsist- 
ency, which  savoured  strongly  of  extraneous  influ- 
ence— an  inference  which  is,  moreover,  strengthened 
by  the  fact  that  Anne,  whose  natural  cupidity  was 


36  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  i 

notorious,  had  employed  no  less  a  sum  than  thirty- 
two  thousand  livres  in  urging  his  judges  to  greater 
severity  and  despatch — pronounced  that  for  certain 
excesses  and  other  delinquencies  the  Marechal  de 
Gie  should  be  deprived  of  the  title  and  office  of 
Governor  of  the  Comte  d'Angouleme  and  his  com- 
mand of  the  castles  of  Amboise  and  Angers ;  and 
that  for  the  space  of  five  years  he  should  abstain 
from  the  exercise  of  his  functions  as  Marechal  de 
France,  during  which  period  he  should  be  exiled 
from  the  residences  of  the  Court. 

M.  de  Gi^  bore  his  disgrace  as  philosophically  as 
he  had  borne  his  prosperity  ;  and,  resigning  his  for- 
feited dignities,  retired  to  Anjou,  where  he  lived 
surrounded  by  splendour  and  totally  indifferent  to  the 
exultation  of  those  who  had  conspired  against  him. 

The  implacable  nature  of  Anne  de  Bretagne  dis- 
played itself  upon  this  occasion  in  a  marked  manner. 
When  urged  by  Pontbriant  to  suggest  that  the  cul- 
prit should  be  subjected  to  the  question,  in  order  to 
compel  him  to  a  confession  of  his  crime,  she  declared 
that  she  had  no  wish  to  see  him  condemned  to  die, 
as  were  he  to  lose  his  head  he  would  soon  be  un- 
conscious of  the  degradation  to  which  he  was  now 
subjected ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  her  desire  was 
that  he  should  live,  in  order  that  he  might  contrast 
his  present  disgrace  and  insignificance  with  his 
former  greatness  ;  and  amid  regret,  suffering,  and 
mortification  endure  a  lasting  agony  which,  to  his 
proud  spirit,  would  be  more  bitter  a  hundredfold 
than  death  itself 


CHAP.  I  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  37 

Meanwhile  her  late  alarm  had  rendered  her  only 
the  more  determined  to  accomplish  her  project  re- 
garding the  disposal  of  Brittany,  and  to  crush  the 
hopes  of  Louise  de  Savoie  that  her  son  would  one 
day  inherit  her  beloved  duchy ;  and  she  accordingly 
urged  on  the  secret  correspondence  into  which  she 
had  already  entered  with  the  son  of  the  Archduke 
Philip  with  increased  eagerness  and  with  so  much 
success  that  this  prince,  in  conjunction  with  Maxi- 
milian, finally  opened  a  negotiation  with  Louis  XII. 
which  terminated  in  the  treaty  of  Blois,  by  which  it 
was  stipulated  that  the  Princesse  Claude,  with  the 
present  possession  of  the  counties  of  Ast,  Boulogne, 
and  Blois,  and  the  duchy  of  Brittany  in  perspective, 
upon  the  death  of  her  mother,  should  be  given  in 
marriage  to  the  young  Due  de  Luxembourg. 

This  matrimonial  compact  was  a  fatal  blow  to 
the  ambition  of  Louise  de  Savoie  and  the  pros- 
pects of  her  son.  Madame  d'Angouleme  had,  until 
that  moment,  never  ceased  to  flatter  herself  that 
upon  a  point  so  vital  to  the  interests  of  the  nation, 
as  well  as  so  interesting  to  his  own  feelings,  the 
will  and  wishes  of  the  king  must  ultimately  pre- 
vail ;  and  now  she  was  fated  to  witness  the  failure 
of  her  anticipations ;  while  Francis,  who  had  long 
considered  the  infant  princess  as  his  destined  wife, 
not  only  found  himself  robbed  of  his  bride,  but  saw 
his  future  kingdom  shorn  of  some  of  its  most  im- 
portant and  valuable  provinces. 


CHAPTER    II 

1504-7 

Marguerite  de  Valois  asked  in  marriage  by  Henry  VII. — Refusal  of  Louis 
XII. — Marguerite  married  to  the  Due  d'Alen9on — Her  reluctance — 
Motives  of  the  king — Her  writings — Relapse  of  Louis  XII. — Death  of 
Isabella  of  Spain — Marriage  of  Germaine  de  Foix  with  Ferdinand  of 
Castile  —  The  States  -  General  assembled  —  Francis  betrothed  to  the 
Princesse  Claude — Death  of  the  Archduke  Philip — ^Jeanne  la  Folle — The 
Pope  determines  on  war — Character  of  Julius  II. — Louis  sends  an  army 
to  Bologna — Genoa  revolts — Wanton  cruelties  perpetrated  by  the  Genoese 
— Louis  proceeds  to  Italy  at  the  head  of  a  large  army — Genoa  capitulates 
— Louis  XII.  takes  possession  of  the  city — A  Court  festival — Dancing 
bishops — Interview  between  Louis  XII.  and  Ferdinand — Gonsalvo  de 
Cardova — Refusal  of  the  Pope  to  meet  Louis  XII. 

When  the  failing  health  of  Louis  XII.  induced  the 
belief  that  his  life  was  drawing  to  its  close,  the  hand 
of  Marguerite  d'Angouleme,  the  sister  of  the  heir- 
presumptive  to  the  throne,  was  asked  by  Henry 
VII.  of  England;  but  after  mature  deliberation  the 
Grand  Council  declined  to  sanction  the  marriage, 
being  apprehensive,  as  they  affirmed,  that  it  would 
involve  the  two  countries  in  perpetual  warfare  and 
tend  to  undermine  the  salic  law  in  France.  A 
second  proposition  of  the  same  nature  was  also  de- 
clined from  similar  motives ;  while  the  king  himself 
opposed  her  union  with  Charles  of  Austria,  and 
declared  his  determination  to  bestow  her  in  mar- 
riage upon  Charles  III.,  Due  d'Alengon  ;  a  decision 
at  which   the  high  and  already  matured  spirit  of 


IS04-7  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I  39 

Marguerite  revolted  ;  perceiving,  as  she  at  once  did, 
the  intellectual  inferiority  of  the  man  to  whom  she 
should  thus  be  compelled  to  promise  obedience  and 
respect.  It  was,  consequently,  with  bitter  tears  that 
she  submitted  to  the  commands  of  the  monarch 
and  the  wishes  of  her  mother  ;  for  she  foresaw  how 
little  suited  they  were  to  each  other,  and  how  cheer- 
less was  the  prospect  thus  opened  before  her.  The 
duke  was  deficient  in  all  the  brilliant  qualities  for 
which  Marguerite  was  herself  distinguished,  nor  did 
he  even  possess  the  negative  merit  of  appreciating 
them  in  another ;  and  thus  the  young  princess  per- 
ceived that  she  must  be  sufficient  to  herself,  while 
the  bright  illusion  was  for  ever  vanished  which  had 
led  her  to  believe  that  she  should  be  valued  at  her 
own  hearth  for  the  acquirements  which  it  had  cost 
her  so  much  labour  to  attain. 

The  only  apparent  motive  by  which  Louis  XI  I. 
had  been  impelled  to  insist  upon  this  ill-assorted 
marriage  was  his  desire  to  terminate  a  process  then 
pending  between  the  Due  d'Alengon  and  the  Comte 
d'Angouleme  as  the  conflicting  heirs  of  Marie 
d'Armagnac ;  and  it  was  accordingly  arranged  that 
on  its  celebration  the  latter  should  abandon  his 
claim  in  favour  of  his  sister,  whose  dowry  thus 
amounted  to  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  livres. 

No  pecuniary  consideration  could,  however,  re- 
concile Marguerite  to  so  repugnant  a  union ;  and 
when  she  found  it  inevitable  she  declared  that 
thenceforth  she  gave  her  heart  to  God,  as  she  could 
never  bestow  it  upon  her  husband ;  a  resolve  which 


40  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ii 

it  was,  perhaps,  beyond  her  power  to  fulfil,  for  it  is 
certain  that  however  actually  innocent  she  may  have 
been  she  was  nevertheless  morally  guilty,  inasmuch 
as  she  carried  her  predilections  beyond  the  due 
bounds  of  female  delicacy  and  warrantable  friend- 
ship, although  she  may  never  wholly  have  forgotten 
her  dignity  as  a  woman  and  a  princess.  /  Her 
attachment  to  Charles  de  Montpensier  militated, 
moreover,  against  that  perfect  self-abnegation  which 
she  professed ;  while  her  disgraceful  adventure  with 
Bonnivet,  which  she  has  triumphantly  recorded  in 
the  fourth  tale  of  the  Heptameron,  is  so  far  from 
redounding  to  her  honour  either  as  a  woman  or  a 
wife,  that  the  reader  feels  the  utter  impossibility  of 
its  occurrence  without  a  previous  levity  on  her  part 
which  appeared  to  sanction  the  indignity  to  which 
she  was  subjected.  Moreover,  even  her  panegyrist 
Brantdme  is  betrayed  into  the  confession  that  ''En 
fait  de  joyeuseUs  et  de  galanteries,  elle  montrait 
qu  elk  en  savait  plus  que  son  pain  quotidieny  No 
marvel,  however,  when  it  is  remembered  that  she 
was  reared  by  Louise  de  Savoie,  and  became  the 
willing  confidante  of  her  brother's  gallantries. 
Among  other  frivolities  unworthy  of  so  superior  a 
mind  the  Duchesse  d'Alengon  originated  the  custom 
between  friends  of  opposite  sexes  which,  by  autho- 
rizing them  to  style  each  other  allied  brothers  and 
sisters,  gave  them  the  privilege  of  openly  declaring 
their  mutual  attachment,  to  which,  whatever  might 
really  be  its  nature  or  extent,  it  was  understood  that 
no  scandal  was  to  be  attached. 


I504-7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  41 

Even  with  all  due  consideration  of  the  lax  state  of 
society  in  that  age,  the  mind  and  heart  which  could 
suggest  and  share  in  so  unseemly  a  folly  and  so 
immodest  an  exhibition  as  this  must  have  been 
perverted  at  the  core ;  and,  as  we  read,  we  cease  to 
wonder  and  to  mourn  over  the  prostitution  of  her 
fine  talents,  when  we  remember  that  so  polluted  a 
stream  could  produce  no  current  of  pure  and  health- 
ful fancy. 

In  other  respects  the  character  of  the  Princesse 
Marguerite  did  credit  to  her  mother's  training. 
With  all  the  natural  energy  of  Madame  d'Angouleme, 
she  had  more  self-control ;  and  it  was  only  in 
moments  of  great  excitement  that  she  suffered 
herself  to  be  betrayed  into  any  exhibition  of  un- 
womanly vehemence ;  while  her  devotion  to  those 
she  loved  was  almost  chivalric.  But  her  moral 
profligacy  casts  a  dark  shadow  over  the  brilliancy 
of  her  other  and  more  estimable  qualities,  by  which 
they  must  ever  be  clouded  in  the  eyes  of  posterity. 

The  treaty  of  marriage  between  Claude  de 
France  and  Charles  de  Luxembourg  had  scarcely 
been  concluded  when  the  king  suffered  a  relapse  of 
the  same  malady  to  which  he  had  so  nearly  fallen 
a  victim  during  the  preceding  year ;  and  the  Car- 
dinal d'Amboise,^  who  foresaw  the  most  dangerous 

^  George,  Cardinal  d'Amboise,  was  born  in  1460,  in  the  castle  of 
Chaumont-sur- Loire,  near  Montauban ;  and  was  successively  Bishop 
of  Montauban,  Archbishop  of  Narbonne,  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  and, 
finally,  Cardinal  and  First  Minister  of  Louis  XII.  from  1499  to  1510, 
the  period  of  his  death.  It  was  by  his  advice  that  Louis  undertook 
the  conquest  of  the  Milanese.  He  made  strenuous  efforts  to  obtain 
the  tiara,  but  was  defeated  by  the  Cardinal  of  Rovera. 


42  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ii 

results  should  it  be  accomplished,  absolved  the 
king  from  the  fulfilment  of  his  pledge,  and  induced 
him  to  execute  a  will,  by  which  he  directed  that 
the  Princesse  Claude  should  become  the  wife  of 
her  cousin,  the  Comte  d'Angouleme,  so  soon  as 
their  respective  ages  should  render  their  marriage 
practicable  ;  and  appointed  the  queen  and  Louise  de 
Savoie  joint  regents  of  the  kingdom  in  the  interim. 
This  testamentary  document  was  drawn  up  on  the 
31st  of  May  1505,  and  contained  the  following 
passage:  —  "Item.  We  very  expressly  will  and 
command  that  our  said  daughter  make  her  residence 
within  our  kingdom,  without  departing  hence,  until 
her  marriage  with  our  very  dear  and  beloved 
nephew,  the  Due  de  Valois,  Comte  d'Angouleme, 
be  duly  solemnized." 

The  recovery  of  the  king,  however,  which  shortly 
supervened,  rendered  the  will  nugatory ;  and  thus 
this  extraordinary  regency  was  not  fated  to  take 
effect.  It  will,  at  the  first  glance,  appear  strange 
that  Anne  de  Bretagne  should  offer  no  opposition 
upon  this  second  occasion  to  the  betrothal  of  her 
daughter  with  Francis,  after  having  so  strenuously 
laboured  hitherto  to  prevent  it ;  but  those  whom  she 
admitted  to  her  intimacy  were  well  aware  that, 
although  apparently  passive,  she  was  as  much  averse 
to  it  as  ever,  and  as  firmly  resolved  to  discountenance 
their  actual  marriage  ;  a  fact  which  her  contribution 
of  one  hundred  thousand  crowns  to  the  dowry  of 
the  princess  sufficed  ultimately  to  prove.  The  truth 
was,  that  she  had  by  no  means  lost  confidence  in 


1504-7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  43 

her  final  success  ;  she  had  not  yet  relinquished  the 
hope  of  again  becoming  a  mother ;  and  she  had 
every  reason  to  conclude  that  Louis  XII.,  having  so 
unhesitatingly  released  himself  from  his  solemn 
obligation  towards  Charles  de  Luxembourg,  would, 
should  he  find  it  expedient  to  shake  off  the  trammels 
of  this  second  engagement,  be  even  less  scrupulous 
than  before ;  and  she,  therefore,  continued  to  pursue 
her  negotiations  with  Austria,  as  though  the  be- 
trothal determined  by  the  monarch  was  to  have  no 
influence  over  the  ultimate  disposal  of  her  daughter. 
The  death  of  Isabella  of  Spain,  which  took  place 
during  this  year,  induced  Ferdinand  to  make  over- 
tures of  peace  to  France ;  and,  in  order  to  effect 
this  object,  he  demanded  of  Louis  the  hand  of  his 
beautiful  niece,  Germaine  de  Foix,  the  daughter  of 
his  sister  Marie,  who  had  married  Jean  de  Foix, 
Vicomte  de  Narbonne  ;  and  at  the  same  time  that  he 
gave  his  ambassadors  authority  to  make  this  demand, 
he  also  accredited  them  to  Francis,  the  heir-presump- 
tive to  the  throne,  believing  that  Louis  was  then 
near  his  end.  The  proposition  was  accepted,  and  by 
a  treaty  signed  at  Blois,  on  the  1 2th  of  October,  and 
destined  on  this  occasion  to  prove  valid,  Louis  ceded 
to  his  niece  his  claim  to  the  kingdom  of  Naples  ;  on 
the  condition,  however,  that  should  the  princess  die 
without  issue,  the  Neapolitan  territories  should  return 
to  the  crown  of  France.  Ferdinand,  on  his  part, 
pledged  himself  to  pay  to  the  French  king  one  hun- 
dred thousand  ducats  annually  for  the  space  of  ten 
years  ;  while  the  two  monarchs  were  to  ally  them- 


44  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ii 

selves  and  their  respective  interests  so  closely  as 
to  form,  according  to  their  own  expression,  "  two 
souls  in  one  body ; "  and  to  render  to  each  other 
reciprocal  assistance  in  every  emergency  without 
exception  ;  Louis  XII.  to  furnish  a  thousand  lances, 
and  Ferdinand  three  thousand  foot.  The  Spanish 
king  moreover  bound  himself  to  grant  a  free  pardon 
to  all  the  Neapolitans  who  had  embraced  the 
French  cause,  and  to  restore  their  property. 

The  marriage  was  accordingly  solemnized  ;  and 
Ferdinand  immediately  left  Spain,  and  proceeded 
to  Naples. 

Delivered  for  a  time  from  all  prospect  of  foreign 
aggression,  Louis  applied  himself  to  the  internal 
economy  of  his  kingdom  ;  and  more  desirous  than 
ever  to  accomplish  the  union  of  his  daughter  with 
Francis,  from  having  discovered  the  secret,  and 
therefore  more  irritating,  opposition  of  the  queen, 
he  caused  an  assembly  of  the  States  -  General  to 
be  convened  at  Tours,  which  was  understood  to 
originate  with  the  nobles  themselves,  but  where 
the  counsellors  of  the  king  instructed  them  before- 
hand in  the  role  which  they  were  expected  to  enact; 
and  directed  them  to  enforce  upon  the  monarch  the 
expediency  of  annulling  the  treaty  to  which  he  had 
previously  bound  himself  by  oath.  This  done, 
Louis  repaired  to  Tours  to  give  them  the  audience 
they  had  demanded,  and  received  the  deputies  in 
the  great  hall  of  Plessls-les -Tours.  On  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  were  stationed  the  Cardinals 
of  Amboise  and  Narbonne,  the  chancellor,  and   a 


IS04-7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  45 

number  of  bishops  ;  and  on  the  left,  the  Comte 
d'Angouleme,  upon  whom  he  had  already  bestowed 
the  title  of  Due  de  Valois,  the  princes  of  the  blood, 
the  principal  nobles  of  the  kingdom,  the  president 
of  the  parliament  of  Paris,  and  some  of  the  members 
of  the  council. 

Thomas  Bricot,  a  canon  of  Notre  Dame,  and 
senior  deputy  of  Paris,  was  selected  to  open  the 
proceedings,  which  he  did  with  considerable  elo- 
quence ;  and  after  having  expressed  to  his  royal 
hearer  the  gratitude  of  the  nation  for  all  the  benefits 
which  his  subjects  had  experienced  under  his  rule 
— the  reduction  effected  in  the  public  taxes,  the 
cessation  of  the  formerly  unrestrained  licentious- 
ness of  the  soldiery,  and  the  reformations  which 
had  taken  place  in  the  courts  of  justice,  alike  in 
Paris  and  in  the  provinces  —  he  concluded  his 
harangue  thus  : — "  For  all  these  reasons  he  should 
be  called  Louis  XII.,  the  Father  of  his  People!" 

Loud  acclamations  greeted  this  burst  of  loyal 
affection  ;  and  the  king  was  so  much  moved  by  the 
general  enthusiasm  that  he  could  not  control  his 
tears. 

When  silence  was  restored,  the  orator  sank  upon 
his  knee,  an  example  which  was  followed  by  the 
whole  of  the  deputies ;  and,  in  this  position,  he 
resumed :  "  Sire,  we  are  here  by  your  good  plea- 
sure, in  order  to  proffer  to  you  a  request  which 
involves  the  general  good  of  your  kingdom  ;  and 
this  is,  that  your  very  humble  subjects  beseech 
you    to   bestow    Madame,   your   only  daughter,   in 


46  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ii 

marriage   upon    Monsieur    Frangois   here    present, 
who  is  in  all  respects  a  Frenchman." 

By  order  of  the  king,  the  Chancellor  Gui  de 
Rochefort^  replied  to  the  States'  deputies,  inform- 
ing them  that  his  majesty  would  confer  with  the 
princes  of  the  blood  upon  the  subject  of  the  pro- 
posed alliance ;  and  the  assembly  was  then  ad- 
journed to  the  following  day,  when  Louis,  with 
a  feigned  reluctance  which  he  was  far  from  feeling, 
announced  that  "he  condescended  to  their  demand 
and  request,"  and  desired  that  the  betrothal  of  the  two 
children  should  take  place  on  the  second  day  from 
that  time,  which  was  the  Feast  of  the  Ascension. 
The  youthful  pair  were  accordingly  solemnly  affi- 
anced by  the  Cardinal  d'Amboise  in  the  presence  of 
the  whole  Court ;  and,  previous  to  the  ceremony,  the 
chancellor  read  aloud  the  marriage  articles,  which 
secured  to  the  Princesse  Claude,  even  in  the  event 
of  sons  being  subsequently  born  to  the  king,  the 
counties  of  Ast  and  Blois,  the  lordships  of  Soissons 
and  Coucy,  and  one  hundred  thousand  crowns,  given, 
as  we  have  already  stated,  by  the  queen. 

Thus,  long  after  she  had  despaired  of  such  a 
triumph,  Madame  d'Angouleme  witnessed  her  son's 
betrothal  to  the  daughter  of  his  sovereign,  and 
saw  him  publicly  recognized  as  heir-presumptive 
to  the  crown ;  and,  had  she  not  been  compelled 
to  look  through  so  long  a  perspective  of  time — 

1  Gui  de  Rochefort,  Seigneur  de  Pleuvant  in  Burgundy,  was  the 
chamberlain  and  counsellor  of  Charles  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
and  afterwards  passed  into  the  service  of  Louis  XI.  Charles  VIII. 
r  ma^e  him  chancellor  of  France.     / 


i 


( 


1504-7  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  47 

for  at  this  period  Francis  had  only  attained  his 
fourteenth  and  Claude  her  fourth  year — even  her 
restless  ambition  would  have  been  satisfied. 

The  bad  faith  exhibited  by  Louis  XII.  in  this 
uncompromising  violation  of  a  solemn  treaty,  and 
the  ambiguous  manner  in  which  he  sought  to  ex- 
cuse himself  to  the  Austrian  Court,  in  an  autograph 
letter  which  he  addressed  to  Guillaume  de  Croy, 
Sire  de  Chievres,^  to  whom  Philip  had  confided 
the  government  of  the  Low  Countries  during  his 
absence  in  England,  and  in  which  he  declared  that 
he  had  liberated  himself  from  his  engagement  "  for 
reasons  which  would  be  too  long  to  relate,"  con- 
vinced its  recipient  that  a  war  must  necessarily 
ensue  between  France  and  his  own  sovereign  ;  and 
he  accordingly  took  instant  measures  to  fortify  his 
frontier;  but  Philip,  whose  position  in  Spain  was 
precarious,  and  who  feared  to  engage  in  foreign 
hostilities  while  still  contending  with  his  father-in- 
law  for  the  possession  of  Castile,  replied  evasively 
to  the  announcement  which  he  received  of  the 
betrothal  of  the  Princesse  Claude  to  Francis ; 
asserting  that  he  could  not  express  any  sentiment 
upon  the  subject  "  until  he  had  first  communicated 

1  Guillaume  de  Croy,  Seigneur  de  Chi^vres,  Due  de  Soria,  and 
Knight  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  was  the  descendant  of  an  ancient 
family,  which  derived  its  name  from  the  village  of  Croy,  in  Picardy. 
He  became  celebrated  for  his  military  prowess,  during  the  reigns  of 
Charles  VIII.  and  Louis  XII.  He  was  the  governor  of  Charles  of 
Austria,  afterwards  Emperor  of  Germany.  Having  allied  himself 
to  the  fortunes  of  that  prince,  he  was  sent  to  Spain  in  the  quality  of 
viceroy  ;  but,  while  holding  that  important  trust,  he  tarnished  his 
reputation  by  the  most  extortionate  exactions.  He  died  at  Worms  in 
I  521. 


48  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ii 

and  consulted  with  the  king  his  father,  and  the 
King  of  Aragon  his  father-in-law,  whom  it  con- 
cerned." The  letter  terminated  with  fervent  ex- 
pressions of  attachment  to  the  person  of  the  French 
monarch,  but  afforded  no  clue  to  the  real  feelings 
of  the  writer  upon  the  point  in  question. 

The  death  of  the  Archduke  Philip,  who  perished 
of  pestilential  fever  at  Burgos,  on  the  25th  of 
September  1506,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years, 
and  only  three  months  after  his  entry  into  Castile, 
suspended  for  a  time  all  the  warlike  demonstrations 
which  were  beginning  to  develop  themselves.  The 
miserable  and  morbid  state  of  mind  of  his  widow, 
Jeanne  la  Folk,  elder  daughter  of  Isabella  the 
Catholic,  in  right  of  whom  she  inherited  the  king- 
dom, necessitated  the  election  of  a  more  efficient 
governor.  The  condition  of  Queen  Joanna  was 
indeed  deplorable,  and  forbade  all  hope  of  her 
ever  again  being  enabled  to  assume  the  functions 
of  a  sovereign.  Weak  and  suspicious,  as  well  as 
jealous  to  a  fearful  excess,  she  had  seldom,  during 
the  lifetime  of  her  husband,  left  the  suite  of  apart- 
ments appropriated  to  her  use ;  where,  incapable 
of  pursuing  any  occupation  or  amusement,  she 
passed  her  time  in  wandering  through  the  rooms, 
uttering  incoherent  menaces,  and  occasionally  in- 
dulging in  still  more  incoherent  bursts  of  grief. 
The  death  of  Philip  had  confirmed  this  incipient 
madness.  She  caused  his  body  to  be  embalmed, 
and  laid  upon  a  bed  of  state  in  her  own  chamber, 


I504-7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  .49 

dressed  in  the  most  magnificent  manner ;  while  she 
sat  beside  it,  with  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  motion- 
less countenance,  waiting  for  the  first  sign  of  that 
returning  life  which  she  believed  was  by  some 
miracle  to  be  restored  to  him.  Her  jealousy  still 
continued  as  great  as  ever ;  and  from  the  period 
of  the  embalmment  of  the  corpse  she  suffered  no 
female  to  enter  the  room  in  which  he  lay.  Nor  did 
she  falter  in  her  task  even  for  an  instant ;  it  was  in 
vain  that  she  was  entreated  to  open  despatches, 
authorize  orders,  or  sign  state  documents ;  she  an- 
swered every  appeal  by  pointing  with  her  attenu- 
ated finger  towards  the  lifeless  body,  and  briefly 
uttering,  "  Wait !  " 

The  helpless  condition  of  her  children  awakened 
all  the  best  sympathies  of  Louis  XII.,  and  he  caused 
a  letter  to  be  written  to  Margaret  of  Austria,  in 
which  he  declared  that  he  was  willing  to  treat  the 
sons  of  Philip  as  though  they  were  his  own.  Maxi- 
milian, however,  asserted  that  to  him  alone  belonged 
the  guardianship  of  his  grandson,  Charles  de  Lux- 
embourg, who,  in  default  of  his  mother,  must  be 
recognized  as  King  of  Castile ;  while  Ferdinand, 
who  had  learnt  the  death  of  his  son-in-law  at  Genoa, 
continued  his  route  to  Naples,  calculating  that  the 
confusion  which  must  exist  in  the  kingdom  at  such 
a  juncture  would  materially  conduce  to  his  own 
popularity  and  welcome. 

The  calm  was  not,  however,  destined  to  be  of 
long  continuance,  for  while  Spain,  Germany,  and 
France    were   passively    awaiting   the   progress    of 

VOL.  I  4 


50  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ii 

events,  Julius  II.,  who  filled  the  pontifical  see,  and 
who,  in  addition  to  his  restless  and  warlike  tastes, 
felt,  or  afTected,  as  much  contempt  as  dislike  towards 
the  two  latter  nations,  which  he  qualified  with  the 
title  of  "barbarians,"  resolved  to  take  the  initiative, 
and  to  restore  to  the  Church  all  the  domains  which 
had  from  time  to  time  been  wrested  from  it.  His 
first  object  was  the  subjugation  of  Venice,  as  the 
most  arrogant  and  the  most  powerful  of  those  states 
which  had  openly  declared  their  independence  ;  but 
the  cause  which  he  had  most  at  heart  was  the  de- 
struction of  the  French  interest  throughout  Italy. 

The  costume  which  had  been  adopted  by  the 
sovereign-pontiff,  his  flowing  beard  and  bent  figure, 
gave  him  an  appearance  of  extreme  old  age,  al- 
though, according  to  one  of  his  historians,  he  had 
at  this  period  only  reached  his  sixty-third  year ;  but 
his  mind  was  still  strong  and  clear,  and  his  passions 
violent.  Haughty,  irascible,  and  unscrupulous,  he 
was  nevertheless  brave,  judicious,  and  full  of  love 
for  his  country  ;  but  the  clerical  habit  sat  loosely 
upon  him,  while  his  fingers  clutched  firmly  the  hilt 
of  the  sabre  or  the  bridle  of  the  war-horse.  As  a 
warrior  Julius  II.  would  have  been  a  hero  ;  as  a  pope 
he  was  only  a  licentious  and  grasping  churchman. 

Having  raised  both  money  and  troops,  the  chagrin 
of  Julius  was  excessive  upon  finding  that  a  treaty 
into  which  he  had  induced  Louis  XII.  to  enter  with 
Maximilian,  for  their  joint  invasion  of  the  Venetian 
territory — a  treaty  which  had,  moreover,  been  sub- 
sequently renewed  at  Cambray — was  set  aside  by 


I504-7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  51 

the  more  recent  alliance  formed  between  the  French 
king  and  Ferdinand ;  a  circumstance  which  com- 
pelled him  to  abandon  for  a  time  the  reduction 
of  the  Venetians  and  the  recovery  of  the  cities 
of  Faenza  and  Rimini,  of  which,  upon  the '  death 
of  Caesar  Borgia,  they  had  possessed  themselves. 
Nevertheless  he  resolved  not  to  delay  the  punish- 
ment of  other  delinquents,  who  had  flung  the  yoke 
of  the  papal  government  from  their  necks ;  and  the 
first  against  whom  he  directed  his  arms  were  Jean 
Paul  Baglioni,  the  hereditary  sovereign  of  Perousa, 
and  Jean  Bentivoglio,  who  held  a  similar  sway  over 
Bologna,  two  of  the  most  powerful  cities  of  the 
pontifical  states.  The  latter  had  purchased  the  pro- 
tection of  France  by  the  payment  of  a  considerable 
tribute,  and  might  therefore  justly  anticipate  the  aid 
of  that  country  in  an  emergency  like  the  present ; 
the  rather,  moreover,  that  Bologna,  over  which  his 
family  had  reigned  for  more  than  a  century,  was 
esteemed  essential  to  the  defence  of  the  Milanese  ; 
but  Julius  was  not  to  be  deterred  by  this  considera- 
tion, and,  resolved  at  once  to  assert  his  own  will 
and  the  authority  of  the  Church,  he  called  upon 
Louis  to  furnish  him  with  troops  and  upon  the 
Venetians  to  remain  neuter. 

Taken  by  surprise,  both  the  one  and  the  other 
agreed  to  his  demands  against  their  better  judg- 
ment ;  and  the  warlike  pontiff  left  Rome  on  the 
27th  of  August  at  the  head  of  four  hundred  men-at- 
arms,  and  with  a  suite  of  twenty-four  cardinals.  He 
found  no  enemy  to  combat,  however,  in  Baglioni, 


52  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chai-.  ii 

who,  terrified  at  his  approach,  advanced  as  far  as 
Orvieto  to  meet  him,  and  placed  himself  in  his 
hands ;  a  confidence  which  was  repaid  by  the 
Pope  on  his  entrance  into  Perousa  on  the  13th  of 
September  by  the  restoration  of  his  patrimonial 
property,  with  permission  to  reside  as  a  private 
citizen  in  the  city  which  he  had  hitherto  ruled, 
while  to  the  city  itself  he  restored  its  republican 
administration  under  the  control  and  direction  of 
the  holy  see.  The  Prince  Bentivoglio  proved  less 
amenable  to  the  pontifical  pleasure,  and  calculated 
upon  that  assistance  from  France  for  which  he  had 
paid  so  heavy  a  price ;  nor  is  it  doubtful  that  Louis 
himself,  on  recovering  from  his  first  panic  at  the  un- 
foreseen movement  of  the  Pope,  would  have  willingly 
afforded  it ;  as  on  hearing  that  Julius  had  announced 
in  public  that  he  could  calculate  upon  the  support  of 
the  French  monarch  in  his  attack  upon  Bologna, 
Louis  vehemently  denied  that  he  had  given  any 
pledge  to  that  effect.  The  Cardinal  d'Amboise, 
however,  who  was  anxious  to  avoid  a  rupture  with 
the  Pope,  so  worked  upon  his  mind  that,  once  more 
falsifying  a  solemn  engagement,  he  gave  orders  to 
M.    de    Chaumont,^   his   lieutenant-general    in    the 

1  Charles  d'Amboise,  Seigneur  de  Chaumont,  lieutenant-general 
of  the  army  in  the  Milanese  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and 
grand-master,  was  the  nephew  of  the  Cardinal  d'Amboise,  by  whom 
he  was  entirely  governed.  Naturally  brave,  he  never  ceded  an  inch 
of  the  territory  confided  to  his  charge,  but  made  several  conquests 
both  in  that  kingdom  and  Venice.  He  nevertheless  committed  two 
serious  errors  :  the  one  in  permitting  Chapin  Vitelli  and  the  Venetian 
reinforcement  to  enter  Bologna,  while  he  wasted  a  day  in  endeavour- 
ing to  negotiate  a  peace,  and  lost  the  opportunity  of  occupying  the 
city,  and  reinstating  the  Bentivogli ;  and  the  other,  when  he  suffered 


I504-7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  53 

Milanese,  to  march  upon  Bologna  with  a  force  of 
six  hundred  lances  and  three  thousand  Swiss ;  and 
thus  pressed  on  the  one  hand  by  the  army  of  the 
Pope  and  on  the  other  by  that  of  his  anticipated 
ally,  Bentivoglio  had  no  resource  save  to  take  refuge 
with  his  family  in  the  French  camp ;  to  abandon  a 
principality  which  he  had  inherited  from  his  an- 
cestors ;  and  ultimately  to  accept  an  asylum  in 
Milan,  which,  together  with  a  guarantee  for  the 
preservation  of  his  property,  was  tendered  to  him 
by  Chaumont.  Julius  II.  established  at  Bologna,  as 
he  had  previously  done  at  Perousa,  a  government 
which  was  almost  republican,  and  which  continued 
to  support  itself  in  all  its  integrity  until  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century. 

The  revolt  of  Genoa,  which  had  been  annexed 
to  the  crown  of  France  at  the  same  time  as  the 
duchy  of  Milan,  immediately  supervened,  and 
Chaumont  had  no  sooner  interdicted  all  communi- 
cation between  that  city  and  Lombardy,  while  Yves 
d'Allegre  marched  upon  Monaco  in  order  to  compel 
the  Genoese  to  raise  the  siege  of  the  fortress,  than 
the  rebels,  thus  driven  to  engage  in  an  open  and 
decided  warfare  with  France,  calculated  upon  the 
assistance  of  their  allies  to  enable  them  to  sustain 
so  unequal  a  conflict.  The  Pope  was  their  country- 
man, and,  as  they  well  knew,  favourable  to  their 
interests ;  while  Maximilian  had  already  warned 
Louis  not  to  molest  the  Genoese,  whom  he  re- 
Miranda  to  be  taken,  in  spite  of  the  resolute  defence  which  it  was 
making,  and  from  motives  of  avarice  dissolved  the  Italian  bands. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  years. 


54  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ii 

garded  as  members  of  the  empire  :  thus,  believing 
themselves  secure,  they  threw  off  the  authority  of 
France,  and  in  compliance  with  their  ancient  custom, 
elected  a  new  doge  from  among  their  own  citizens, 
one  Paul  de  Novi,  a  silk  dyer  by  trade,  and  a  man 
of  extraordinary  judgment,  vigour,  and  decision. 

Louis  XII.,  enraged  by  the  wanton  and  barbar- 
ous cruelties  exercised  against  the  French  prisoners 
who  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  whom  they 
crucified,  mutilated,  and  tortured,  without  distinction 
of  age  or   sex,   and,   moreover,  convinced  that  he 
owed  the  revolt  to  the  machinations  of  the  Emperor 
Maximilian  and  the  Pope,  at  once  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men ;  and, 
accompanied    by  the    Dues  de   Bourbon,  Alen9on, 
and   Lorraine,   proceeded   in  person  to   attack  the 
rebels.     The  royal   forces  had   no  sooner  reached 
the  entrance  of  the  mountains  of  Genoa  than  the 
troops  whom  Paul  de  Novi  had  entrusted  with  the 
defence  of  the  defiles   fled  before    them,  and    the 
French  encamped  without  opposition  in  the  valley 
of  Polsevera.      Still,   however,   the  city   itself  was 
enabled  to  offer  a  formidable  resistance  ;  its  natural 
resources  being  so  great  as  to  render  it  impregnable 
at  a  period  when  war  had  not  yet  become  a  science  ; 
and  the  generals  of  Louis  XII.  were  prepared  for 
a  long  and  murderous  campaign.     But  Genoa  was 
already  divided  against  herself ;  intestine  contentions 
had  sapped  her  strength  ;  the  wealthy  citizens,  ap- 
prehensive that  should  the  city  be  captured  it  would 
be  delivered  over  to  pillage,  refused  to  offer  any 


I504-7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  55 

resistance  ;  while  the  lower  orders,  who  had  eagerly 
taken  up  arms  in  the  hope  of  profit,  upon  finding 
themselves  forsaken  by  their  leaders,  lost  courage ; 
and  although  one  body  of  men  fought  bravely  on  the 
height  of  the  Belvidere,  and  had  even,  by  their  pre- 
parations for  defence,  caused  considerable  anxiety  to 
Louis,  it  was  a  solitary  effort,  which  was  frustrated 
through  the  valour  and  intrepidity  of  Bayard,^  who 
having  been  appointed  equerry  to  the  king  had  ac- 
companied him  in  this  expedition,  while  still  suffering 
from  the  effects  of  a  wound  received  at  Garigliano. 

The  defeat  of  this  outpost,  upon  which  great 
hopes  had  been  based,  was  so  complete  and  so  rapid 
that  it  struck  terror  into  the  garrison  of  the  citadel, 
who  immediately  abandoned  their  post ;  and  although 
the  Genoese  made  a  vigorous  attempt  to  retake  it 
they  were  repulsed,  and  thus  found  themselves  com- 
pelled to  send  deputies  to  the  French  king  to 
announce  their  submission,  while  Paul  de  Novi 
evacuated  the  city  with  a  strong  body  of  his  com- 
panions in  arms. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  Louis  entered  the  conquered 
city  on  horseback,  with  his  drawn  sword  in  his  hand, 
while  the  magistrates  and  people  received  him  on 
their  knees,  holding  olive  branches  and  uttering 
loud  cries  for  mercy.  They  were  answered  by  a 
promise  of  pardon,  but  that  pardon  was  far  from 

1  Pierre  du  Terrail,  Seigneur  de  Bayard,  sumamed  "  The  Knight 
without  fear  and  without  reproach,"  was  born  near  Grenoble,  in 
1476.  This  brave  and  loyal  captain  distinguished  himself  greatly 
during  the  wars  of  Italy.  He  defended  Mezi^res,  and  died  on  the 
retreat  from  Romagnano,  in  1525. 


56  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ii 

unconditional,  seventy-nine  individuals  having  been 
exempted  from  the  amnesty  and  hanged  upon 
gibbets  erected  in  the  public  streets ;  while  the 
city,  although  protected  from  pillage,  was  con- 
demned to  a  fine  of  three  hundred  thousand  florins, 
equal  to  half  the  amount  of  the  national  taxes 
of  France — one  hundred  thousand  of  which  were, 
however,  remitted,  in  consequence  of  the  utter 
inability  of  the  citizens  to  meet  the  demand ;  but  in 
lieu  thereof  a  strong  fortress  named  Codifa  was  con- 
structed near  the  outworks  at  their  expense  ;  all 
their  privileges,  as  well  as  their  treaty  with  France, 
were  committed  to  the  flames,  and  a  new  munici- 
pality was  finally  established  ;  while,  on  the  5  th  of 
June  following,  Paul  de  Novi,  who  had  taken  refuge 
in  Corsica,  and  Demetrius  Giustiniani,  another  of 
their  generals,  were  also  executed.  Louis  then  dis- 
banded his  army,  and  with  a  small  suite  proceeded 
to  Milan,  "where,"  says  the  Loyal  Servant,  "  Gian 
Giacopo  Trivulzio,  called  by  the  French  the  Sire 
Jean    Jacques   de    Trivulce,^  gave   him   one  of  the 

1  Jean  Jacques  Trivulce,  Marquis  de  Vigevano,  was  the  represen- 
tative of  an  ancient  Milanese  family,  and  embraced  the  profession  of 
arms.  He  entered  the  service  of  Ferdinand  I.  of  Aragon,  King  of 
Naples,  and  afterwards  passed  into  that  of  Charles  VIII.  of  France, 
when  that  prince  undertook  the  conquest  of  the  Milanese.  It  was 
he  who  delivered  up  Capua  in  1495,  and  who  shared  the  command 
of  the  vanguard  with  the  Mardchal  de  Gid  at  the  battle  of  Fernoua. 
Appointed  lieutenant-general  of  the  French  army  in  Lombardy,  he 
took  Alessandrie,  and  defeated  the  forces  of  Ludovic  Sforza,  Duke  of 
Milan,  He  followed  Louis  XII.  to  the  conquest  of  the  Milanese  in 
1499,  and  distinguished  himself  by  his  bravery.  The  king  confided 
to  him  the  government  of  that  duchy  in  1500,  and  conferred  upon 
him  the  bdton  of  Mardchal  de  France.  Trivulce  fought  with  honour 
at  the  battle  of  Agnadello ;  but,  by  his  unpardonable  negligence, 
caused  the  defeat  of  Novara.      He  was  of  great  assistance  to  Francis 


1504-7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  57 

grandest  feasts  that  ever  was  beheld  in  the  house  of 
a  private  nobleman  ;  for,  from  all  one  can  learn,  there 
were  present  at  it  more  than  five  hundred  guests, 
not  including  ladies,  of  whom  there  were  a  hundred 
or  a  hundred  and  twenty ;  and  it  was  impossible  to 
be  better  entertained  than  they  were,  with  dishes  of 
the  first  and  of  the  second  course,  with  farces,  plays, 
and  other  pastimes."  Moreover,  another  historian 
informs  us  that  at  this  entertainment  "  the  king 
opened  the  ball  with  the  Marchioness  of  Mantua, 
and  that  the  Cardinals  of  Narbonne  and  St.  Severin 
were  among  the  dancers." 

Such  an  assurance  appears  startling  until  we 
remember  that  the  higher  churchmen  of  that  period 
emancipated  themselves  without  scruple  from  all  the 
trammels  of  their  holy  calling ;  and  thus,  while  the 
cardinals  above  named  joined  in  the  bransle,  the 
Bishop  of  Liege,  another  of  the  thirty  prelates  who 
had  accompanied  the  monarch  to  Genoa,  was  study- 
ing the  art  of  war,  which  he  afterwards  practised  so 
skilfully  in  the  cause  of  Charles  V. 

From  Milan  Louis  XIL  proceeded  to  Savona,  in 
order  to  have  an  interview  with  Ferdinand,  who  was 
about  to  resume  the  government  of  Castile,  vacant 
by  the  early  death  of  the  Archduke  Philip.  The 
Spanish  sovereign  was  accompanied  by  his  young 
wife,  by  Germaine  de  Foix  and  Gonsalvo  de  Cor- 
dova, of  whose  popularity  he  had  become  so  jealous 
that  he  feared  to  leave  him  at  Naples.    The  admira- 

I.  during  the  war  of  Italy  in  i  5 1  5,  and  was  in  the  field  at  Marignano. 
He  died  in  1518. 


58  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I       chap,  ii 

tion  and  respect  which  Louis  entertained  for  this 
great  captain  were  shown  in  the  reception  which  he 
gave  him ;  nor  did  he  appear  to  remember  how 
greatly  he  had  suffered  through  the  very  quaHties 
which  elicited  his  regard.  At  his  request  the  high- 
est honour  which  could  then  be  accorded  to  a  subject 
was  conceded  to  Gonsalvo,  who  was  permitted  to 
occupy  a  seat  at  the  royal  table ;  while  towards  his 
niece  the  French  king  exhibited  a  warmth  of  affec- 
tion which,  however  it  might  tend  to  advance  the 
interests  of  her  husband,  was  far  from  pleasing  to 
his  nobility,  towards  whom  she  conducted  herself 
with  singular  haughtiness  and  disrespect,  not  even 
excepting  her  brother,  the  young  Due  de  Nemours  ; 
showing  herself,  upon  every  occasion,  as  inimical  to 
the  French  as  though  she  had  been  born  of  another 
and  an  antagonistic  nation. 

Louis  had  been  desirous,  during  his  sojourn  in 
Italy,  to  secure  an  interview  with  the  Pope  ;  but 
although  the  restless  and  ambitious  prelate  had 
availed  himself  of  the  French  arms  to  subdue 
Bologna,  and  was  even  contemplating  a  fresh 
demand  upon  their  services  for  the  reduction  of 
the  Venetians,  he  affected  to  feel  aggrieved  and 
degraded  by  what  he  designated  the  introduction  of 
the  barbarians  into  Italy  ;  and,  consequently,  when 
the  Cardinal  d'Amboise  solicited  him  to  remain  at 
Bologna  in  order,  to  receive  the  French  king,  he 
immediately  departed  for  Rome,  it  being  no  part  of 
his  policy  to  conciliate  where  it  was  his  ambition  to 
command. 


CHAPTER    III 
1508-12 

Julius  II.  endeavours  to  subjugate  Venice — The  Venetians  attempt  to  pro- 
pitiate Germany  and  Spain — Treaty  between  the  Four  Great  Powers — 
The  French  army  re-enters  Italy — Battle  of  Agnadello — Success  of 
Louis  XII. — Despair  of  the  Venetians — Weakness  of  Maximilian — The 
Venetians  take  Padua — The  Swiss  desert — Flight  of  the  Emperor — Louis 
returns  to  France — Hostility  of  the  Pope  towards  France — Defection  of 
Ferdinand — Louis  threatened  with  excommunication — The  Pope  pro- 
ceeds with  his  army  to  Mirandola — Heroic  defence  of  the  Countess 
Francesca  Pico — Death  of  the  Cardinal  d'Amboise — The  Pope  enters 
into  a  league  with  England  and  Spain — Gallantry  of  Gaston  de  Foix — 
Victory  of  Ravenna — Death  of  Gaston  de  Foix — The  French  return  to 
the  Milanese. 

Intent  upon  the  subjugation  of  Venice,  Julius  II., 
conscious  of  the  unpopularity  of  that  republic  with 
the  other  European  states,  craftily  endeavoured  to 
increase  the  general  feeling  of  dislike  and  suspicion 
which  had  been  excited  by  her  arrogance  and  pros- 
perity into  jealousy  and  disgust ;  nor  was  it  difficult 
for  him  to  attain  his  object.  By  her  downfall  every 
neighbouring  kingdom  became  more  or  less  aggran- 
dized ;  and  thus,  having  previously  demanded  from 
the  senate  the  restoration  of  the  possessions  of  the 
Church  in  Romagna,  a  demand  with  which  he 
was  aware  they  would  not  comply,  and,  by  their 
refusal,  secured  the  pretext  which  he  desired  for 
commencing  hostilities,  he  addressed  himself  simul- 


6o  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  hi 

taneously  to  Louis,  Maximilian,  and  Ferdinand, 
pointing  out  the  several  advantages  to  be  secured 
by  each  when  they  should  have  conquered  the 
haughty  republic  against  which  they  were  leagued. 
His  proposition  was  eagerly  accepted  ;  ambition  and 
cupidity  alike  tended  to  render  it  palatable ;  pleni- 
potentiaries were  appointed,  and  on  the  pretext  of 
arranging  the  settlement  of  the  Low  Countries  they 
met  at  Cambray  in  October  1 508,  and  in  the  course 
of  December  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  were 
concluded. 

Meanwhile  the  Venetians,  who  had  been  made 
acquainted  that  a  league  was  forming  against  them, 
despatched  an  ambassador  to  Louis  to  expostulate 
with  him  upon  this  breach  of  faith ;  while  they 
endeavoured  to  propitiate  both  Maximilian  and 
Ferdinand,  and  solicited  help  on  all  sides,  but  in- 
effectually ;  and  they  at  length  boldly  resolved  to 
brave  the  danger  unaided,  perilous  as  it  appeared. 

One  of  the  conditions  of  this  treaty  stipulated 
that  the  French  king  should  enter  the  Venetian  ter- 
ritories forty  days  before  any  of  the  other  sovereigns 
took  the  field ;  an  arrangement  which,  however  sus- 
picious it  appeared,  did  not  deter  Louis  XII.  from 
his  project ;  and  immediately  (at  the  close  of  Easter 
1509)  he  placed  himself  once  more  at  the  head  of 
his  finest  mounted  troops,  amounting  .to  a  force  of 
twenty  thousand  men,  an  equal  number  of  Swiss,  and 
a  strong  body  of  infantry,  and  descended  into  Italy. 
The  first  division  of  his  army  was  commanded  by 


I508-I2  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  6i 

Trivulzio  and  Chaumont ;  the  second  by  the  king 
in  person  ;  and  the  third,  or  rear-guard,  by  Fran9ois, 
Due  de  Longueville ;  while  a  number  of  the  most 
distinguished  captains  of  France,  either  in  that  or 
any  subsequent  age,  followed  his  banner.  It  was 
indeed  a  gathering  of  her  best  chivalry ;  for  they 
numbered  among  them  Charles  de  Bourbon,  the 
future  Connetable ;  Gaston  de  Foix,  fated  to  die  so 
early  and  so  honourably ;  Robert  de  la  Mark,  the 
Marquis  de  la  Palice,  the  Scottish  hero  D'Aubigny, 
Bayard,  and  many  other  individuals  of  note ;  in- 
cluding the  Seigneurs  de  Molart,  Richemont,  Vdn- 
denesse,  and  La  Crote,  the  Comte  de  Roussillon, 
the  Captain  Odet,  and  the  Cadet  de  Duras,  who 
were  each  accompanied  by  their  separate  band  of 
followers. 

The  royal  army  passed  the  Adda  without  mo- 
lestation, but  were  compelled  to  retreat  before  the 
Count  di  Pitigliano,  who  drove  out  the  French 
garrisons  of  Trevi  and  Rivolta,  and  sacked  both 
those  cities,  a  fact  which  decided  Louis  imme- 
diately to  force  the  Venetians  to  an  engagement. 
The  rashness  of  their  general,  D'Alviano,  seconded 
his  wishes,  despite  the  opposition  of  Pitigliano,  who 
refused  to  act  in  concert  with  him,  and  actually  re- 
treated with  a  portion  of  his  cavalry.  The  admir- 
able position  of  D'Alviano's  troops  enabled  him  to 
make  a  very  successful  attack,  the  nature  of  the 
ground  not  permitting  the  French  horse  to  lend 
any  efficient  aid  ;  and,  for  a  brief  interval,  the  main 
body,  or  battle  as  it  was  then  called,  which  was  led 


62  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  hi 

by  Louis  in  person,  was  in  considerable  jeopardy; 
when  a  skilful  movement  of  the  rear-guard,  com- 
manded by  Bayard,  robbed  the  enemy  of  their 
advantage,  and  enabled  the  cavalry  to  advance  to 
their  support.  D'Alviano  fought  with  desperation, 
and  was  severely  wounded  several  times  during  the 
conflict ;  but  it  was  not  until  he  saw  fourteen  or* 
fifteen  thousand  of  his  best  troops  lying  dead  upon 
the  field  that  he  suffered  himself  to  be  made  pri- 
soner by  the  young  Seigneur  de  Vandenesse,  and 
conducted  to  the  lodging  of  the  king.  This  battle, 
so  glorious  to  the  French  arms,  took  place  in  a 
village  called  Agnadello,  on  the  14th  of  May  1509. 

Success  continued  to  attend  the  French  army  ; 
and  although  Louis  remained  a  couple  of  days  upon 
the  field,  he  had,  within  a  fortnight,  possessed  him- 
self of  the  districts  of  Ghiara  d'Adda  and  Cara- 
vaggio.  On  the  17th  of  May  Bergamo  sent  the 
keys  of  the  city  and  laid  them  at  his  feet,  while 
the  citadel  only  held  out  three  days  longer.  Cara- 
vaggio  was  taken  by  assault,  its  inhabitants  hanged 
from  the  battlements ;  and  not  only  the  garrison, 
but  even  the  citizens  of  Peschiera,  which  had  at- 
tempted to  defend  itself,  were  put  to  the  sword 
without  exception,  although  some  among  them 
offered  a  heavy  ransom  for  their,  lives.  Louis 
XII.,  exasperated  by  their  opposition,  refused  all 
mercy,  declaring  that  he  would,  by  striking  terror 
into  his  enemies,  preserve  himself  from  all  future 
attempts  at  rebellion — a  resolution  which  was  re- 
ceived  with    much    dissatisfaction    by    his    nobility. 


I508-I2  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  63 

who  were  indignant  to  see  gentle  blood  thus  wan- 
tonly spilled  by  the  desecrating  hand  of  the  execu- 
tioner. Brescia,  Crema,  and  the  fortress  of  Pizzi- 
ghettona  were  his  next  conquests  ;  and,  finally,  the 
citadel  of  Cremona,  having  held  out  for  fifteen  days 
after  the  city  had  surrendered,  capitulated  in  its 
turn.  Thus,  before  the  termination  of  the  month, 
Louis  XII.  once  more  found  himself  in  possession 
of  all  that  portion  of  the  Venetian  territory  which 
had  been  apportioned  to  him  by  the  treaty  of  Cam- 
bray,  and  which  augmented  the  royal  revenues  of 
the  duchy  of  Milan  by  the  enormous  sum  of  two 
hundred  thousand  ducats. 

The  haughty  republic,  reduced  to  utter  despair, 
used  every  effort  to  propitiate  the  powers  which 
were  leagued  against  her;  and  Louis,  although  his 
own  task  was  ended,  remained  two  months  longer 
in  Italy,  in  order  to  watch  the  progress  of  events. 
The  Pope  at  once  rejected  the  overtures  of  the 
humbled  senate,  and  only  replied  to  their  petition 
by  sending  an  army  into  Romagna,  under  the  com- 
mand of  his  nephew,  Francesco- Maria  de  la  Rovera,^ 
Duke  d'Urbino,  who  in  the  course  of  a  few  days 
made  himself  master  of  Faenza,  Rimini,  Ravenna, 
and   Cervia ;    while   Maximilian,  who  had  hitherto 

1  Francesco-Maria  de  la  Rov^ra  was  one  of  the  greatest  captains 
of  the  age,  and  was  the  representative  of  an  illustrious  Italian  family, 
which  owed  its  original  celebrity  to  the  fact  that  it  gave  two  popes 
to  Rome,  viz.,  Sixtus  IV.  and  Julius  II.,  the  latter  of  whom  obtained 
for  his  brother  the  hand  of  the  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Urbino,  and 
caused  his  nephew,  the  subject  of  the  present  note,  to  be  adopted  by 
the  last  Duke  of  Urbino,  of  the  family  of  Montefeltro.  He  married 
Eleonora  Hippolyta  de  Gonzago,  and  died  by  poison  in  1538,  aged 
forty-eight  years. 


64  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  hi 

been  delayed  by  want  of  funds  from  aggressive 
measures,  prepared  to  attack  Trevisa;  which  had, 
however,  through  his  enforced  tardiness,  secured 
time  for  resistance.  The  King  of  Spain  obtained 
by  cession  both  Brindici  and  Otranto  in  his  own 
kingdom  of  Naples ;  and  the  keys  of  Verona, 
Vicenza,  and  Padua,  which  had  been  delivered  to 
Louis,  were  by  him  transferred  to  the  emperor. 
The  Duke  of  Ferrara,  who  had  joined  the  invading 
armies  on  the  30th  of  May,  possessed  himself  with- 
out resistance  of  Polesina  de  Rovigo,  Este,  Mon- 
tagnana,  and  Monselica,  the  ancient  patrimony  of 
his  family ;  and  the  Marquis  of  Mantua  occupied 
Asola  and  Lunato,  which  had  been  adjudged  to 
him.  Finally,  Ferdinand  had  at  last  undertaken 
the  siege  of  Trani,  and  the  Venetians  had  ordered 
their  generals  to  deliver  up  to  the  Spaniards  all  the 
territory  which  they  still  held  in  the  kingdom  of 
Naples. 

Venice,  thus  dismembered,  was  considered  to  be 
totally  subjugated.  The  weakness  and  vacillation 
of  Maximilian,  however,  tended  once  more  to  give 
them  hope.  He  had  no  army ;  all  his  monetary 
resources,  great  as  they  had  recently  been,  were 
utterly  exhausted ;  while,  too  suspicious  to  entrust 
his  ministers  with  the  conduct  of  public  affairs,  and 
professing  to  be  sufficient  to  himself,  no  one  could 
fathom  his  ultimate  designs,  and  thus  all  his 
measures  were  futile  and  perplexed,  and  he  spent 
his  time  in  hurrying  from  one  frontier  to  the  other, 
harassing  his  attendants  and  accomplishing  nothing. 


I508-I2  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  65 

On  receiving  the  keys  of  Padua  he  had  sent  only 
eight  hundred  lansquenets  to  form  its  garrison,  a 
force  totally  inadequate  to  such  a  duty,  the  city 
being  six  miles  in  circumference  ;  and  the  Venetians 
were  no  sooner  apprised  of  this  fact  than  they 
determined  to  retake  it,  which  they  did  by  strata- 
gem and  with  great  bloodshed,  the  lansquenets 
destroying  about  fifteen  hundred  of  the  citizens 
and  soldiery  before  they  were  themselves  killed  to 
a  man. 

The  Count  di  Pitigliano  was  immediately  ap- 
prised of  this  event,  and,  with  the  survivors  of 
Agnadello,  hastened  to  throw  himself  into  the  city, 
exerting  all  his  energies  to  repair  and  fortify  it,  and 
resolving  to  defend  it  to  the  last — a  resolution  which 
enraged  the  tardy  Maximilian,  who  vowed  to  go 
thither  in  person  and  avenge  himself;  but  when  he 
arrived  before  the  gates  he  found  himself  without 
men,  money,  or  courage  to  undertake  such  a  task 
single-handed  ;  and  accordingly  he  applied  to  Louis 
for  assistance,  who,  being  on  the  point  of  recrossing 
the  Alps  on  his  return  to  France,  did  not  allow  the 
temporary  prosperity  of  the  Venetians  to  delay  his 
journey,  but  contented  himself  with  leaving  on  the 
frontier  of  Verona  five  hundred  French  lances,  under 
the  command  of  the  Marquis  de  la  Palice,  with 
orders  to  march  to  the  succour  of  the  emperor 
should  he  require  their  aid  ;  a  concession  to  which 
he  was  influenced  by  the  hope  that  Maximilian, 
crippled  for  want  of  money,  might  be  induced  to  sell 
to  him  Verona  and  its  dependent  territory  to  the 

VOL.  I  5 


66  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  in 

banks  of  the  Adige,  which  he  was  desirous  to  secure 
as  a  safe  frontier  to  the  duchy  of  Milan. 

Chancing  to  encounter  Bayard  as  he  was  quitting 
the  castle  to  obey  these  orders,  M.  de  la  Palice 
invited  him  to  join  the  expedition,  to  which  he  joy- 
fully consented.  The  departure  of  Louis  had,  how- 
ever, inspired  the  Venetians  with  new  confidence ; 
they  materially  strengthened  the  garrison  of  Padua, 
retook  Vicenza,  and  were  marching  upon  Verona 
when  the  French  general  compelled  them  to  retreat 
and  once  more  to  evacuate  Vicenza  ;  but  the  courage 
and  success  of  the  French  captains  were  neutralized 
by  the  imbecile  conduct  of  Maximilian,  who,  full  of 
great  projects,  suffered  present  opportunity  to  escape 
him.  Moreover,  the  Swiss  mercenaries,  who  formed 
a  very  considerable  portion  of  his  force,  deserted  in 
great  numbers ;  and  he  at  length  abandoned  all 
further  effort,  and,  with  a  pusillanimity  which  dis- 
gusted his  whole  army,  decamped  suddenly  in  the 
night  with  a  few  of  his  personal  attendants,  leaving 
his  generals  to  raise  the  siege  and  retreat  as  they 
best  could. 

On  the  return  of  Louis  XIL  to  France  the  queen 
advanced  as  far  as  Grenoble  to  welcome  him,  ac- 
companied by  the  Due  de  Valois,  and  his  sister 
Marguerite,  an  attention  to  which  she  was  the  rather 
urged  by  the  peculiarity  of  her  position,  which 
enabled  her  to  render  it  the  more  marked  and  wel- 
come to  Louis,  for  Anne  de  Bretagne  was  once 
more  full  of  hope.  She  was  about  again  to  become 
a  mother,  and  she  was  anxious  to  rejoin  her  royal 


1508-12  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  67 

husband  before  her  hour  of  trial  and,  as  she  trusted, 
of  triumph  also,  should  arrive.  The  result,  however, 
offered  only  a  new  disappointment  in  the  birth  of  a 
second  princess,  Madame  R6nee  de  France.  The 
king  did  not,  as  had  been  anticipated,  take  up  his 
residence  in  the  capital,  but  proceeded  at  once  to 
Blois,  and,  merely  visiting  Paris  at  long  intervals, 
held  his  Court  at  the  former  place,  or  at  Tours, 
Bourges,  and  Lyons,  occasionally  making  a  brief 
sojourn  in  Normandy  or  Brittany.  Nor  had  he 
long  returned  to  his  own  kingdom  before  he  began 
to  experience  great  inconvenience  and  uneasiness 
from  the  effects  of  the  treaty  of  Cambray.  The 
Pope,  whom  he  had  in  some  degree  constrained  to 
second  his  views,  had  never  forgiven  what  he  con- 
sidered as  the  undue  and  excessive  exercise  of  his 
power ;  while  he  was  compelled  to  perceive  that  he 
had  destroyed  the  equilibrium  of  Italy  by  subjecting 
the  Neapolitans  to  the  supremacy  of  Spain  and 
putting  the  Germans  in  possession  of  Venice.  The 
Swiss  had,  moreover,  demanded  from  Louis  an  in- 
crease of  pay,  to  which  he  was  unwilling  to  accede — 
a  circumstance  which  encouraged  Julius  to  make  an 
effort  to  detach  them  from  his  service ;  and  in  this 
attempt  he  readily  succeeded  through  the  medium 
of  a  crafty  churchman  named  Matthew  Scheiner, 
the  nephew  of  the  Bishop  of  Sion,  whom  he  created 
cardinal  under  the  same  title,  and  whose  impassioned 
eloquence  and  martial  spirit  soon  enabled  him  to 
induce  a  belief  among  them  that  a  war  with  Louis 
XII.  would  be  as  acceptable  in  the  eyes  of  heaven 


68  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  in 

as  a  crusade  against  the  infidels.  It  was  not  long, 
therefore,  ere  they  consented  to  make  a  descent 
upon  Italy  as  the  servants  of  the  Church,  and  thus 
the  French  king  saw  himself  not  only  deprived  of 
their  assistance  but  even  called  upon  to  include 
them  among  his  enemies, 

Ferdinand,  true  to  his  treacherous  and  truckling 
character,  having  made  his  profit  of  the  treaty  of 
Cambray,  renounced  it  without  a  single  scruple,  and 
entered  into  a  league  with  the  Pope,  urging  upon  his 
son-in-law  the  King  of  England  the  expediency  of  fol- 
lowing his  example,  and  accepting  from  the  warlike 
pontiff  a  full  investiture  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 

Thoroughly  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  evil 
which  threatened  him  on  all  sides,  Louis  would 
gladly  have  taken  the  field  and  defied  the  Pope  and 
his  allies  with  the  single  aid  of  Maximilian  ;  but  the 
instability  of  that  prince  rendered  such  a  measure 
hazardous,  and  he  consequently  resolved,  as  a  more 
judicious  medium,  to  call  a  council  of  his  own  pre- 
lates at  Tours,  and  to  demand  of  them  if  Julius  II. 
had  the  right  to  levy  a  war  of  which  neither  religion 
nor  the  interests  of  the  Church  were  the  ostensible 
objects,  or  if  opposition  to  a  conflict  purely  secular 
in  its  interests  might  not  be  righteous.  The  reply 
of  the  council  was  favourable  to  his  wishes ;  the 
king  was  authorized  by  its  unanimous  voice  to  act 
on  the  offensive  as  well  as  the  defensive,  and  was, 
moreover,  assured  that  any  papal  excommunication 
which  the  war  might  induce  would  be  null  and  void  ; 
while,    in   addition    to   this   solemn    decision,    they 


I508-I2  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  69 

raised  a  large  subsidy  on  the  Church  possessions  in 
furtherance  of  his  views. 

Meanwhile  the  Pope,  who  appeared  to  disregard 
both  his  age  and  his  infirmities  where  his  ambition 
was  enHsted,  and  who  was  extremely  anxious  to  re- 
possess himself  of  the  duchy  of  Ferrara,  assembled 
a  considerable  army,  and,  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the 
most  severe  winters  which  had  ever  been  experi- 
enced in  Italy,  proceeded  in  person  to  Mirandola, 
where  he  forgot  for  a  time  the  churchman  in  the 
soldier,  encouraged  and  superintended  the  labourers 
in  the  trenches,  and,  to  the  dismay  of  the  cardinals 
by  whom  he  was  accompanied,  not  only  directed  the 
planting  of  the  artillery  but  even  commanded  the 
assaults,  and  exposed  himself  with  the  greatest 
recklessness  until  a  breach  was  effected,  which, 
owing  to  the  moat  being  deeply  frozen,  rendered  all 
further  defence  on  the  part  of  the  besieged  impos- 
sible. On  arriving  at  Santo  Felice,  a  large  village 
near  Mirandola,  Julius  had  despatched  a  herald  to 
the  Countess  Francesca,  the  natural  daughter  of 
Gian  Giacopo  Trivulgio,  and  widow  of  Ludovico 
Pico,  to  summon  her  to  deliver  up  the  city  into  his 
hands,  but  she  resolutely  refused  to  betray  her 
trust,  nor  was  it  until  the  breach  was  effected  that 
she  surrendered. 

From  Mirandola  the  Pope  turned  his  arms  against 
Ferrara,  and  again  attacked  Bologna,  but,  failing  in 
his  attempt,  returned  to  Ravenna. 

The  death  of  the  Cardinal  d'Amboise,  which  oc- 
curred at   Lyons  on  the  '25th  of  May  15 10,  where 


70  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iii 

Louis  XII.  was  then  holding  his  Court  in  order  to 
keep  a  strict  eye  upon  the  events  transpiring  in 
Italy,  was  a  heavy  blow  to  the  French  monarch, 
who  resolved  thenceforward  to  govern  in  his  own 
person — a  determination  which  proved  fatal  to  his 
administration ;  and  meanwhile  the  Pope  perfected 
a  league  which  he  dignified  with  the  title  of  "  Holy," 
and  in  which  he  prevailed  upon  Ferdinand  to  join 
and  on  Henry  VIII.  to  accede,  while  the  Swiss 
were  engaged  to  attack  the  Milanese. 

Louis  XII.  met  this  emergency  with  a  kingly 
spirit ;  his  army  in  Italy  was  augmented,  and  he 
made  every  preparation  for  resisting  the  combina- 
tion which  had  been  formed  against  him.  Gaston 
de  Foix,  Due  de  Nemours,  his  nephew,  was  ap- 
pointed general  of  his  forces,  although  yet  a  mere 
youth  who  had  not  attained  his  twenty-third  year, 
and  the  result  justified  the  confidence  which  had 
been  placed  in  him.  He  saved  Bologna,  which  the 
papal  troops  were  about  to  besiege ;  and  had  not 
his  little  army  been  exhausted  by  forced  marches  in 
the  most  inclement  weather,  would  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  utterly  defeating  the  combined  forces 
of  the  league.  He  had,  however,  scarcely  taken 
possession  of  Bologna  when  he  learnt  that  the  city 
of  Brescia  had  been  treacherously  delivered  over  to 
the  Venetians,  and  that  the  garrison  was  incapable 
of  long  resistance ;  upon  which,  with  incredible 
exertion  and  fatigue,  he  hastened  to  the  rescue  of 
that  place ;    fought  two  battles,   achieved  two  vie- 


1508-12  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  71 

tories,  and  on  arriving  before  the  gates  summoned 
the  city  to  surrender,  being  anxious  if  possible  to 
avoid  further  slaughter.  The  summons  was,  how- 
ever, disregarded,  although  the  citizens  were  desirous 
that  it  should  be  complied  with ;  the  attack  com- 
menced, and  the  carnage  which  ensued  was  fearful. 
The  Venetians  fought  desperately,  but  in  vain.  The 
city  was  taken,  the  garrison  and  population  put  to 
the  sword,  and  the  town  delivered  up  to  all  the 
horrors  of  pillage  and  violence.  Bayard  fell 
wounded  by  a  pike  through  the  thigh,  which 
broke  in  the  wound,  and  was  borne  to  the  rear 
by  two  archers ;  the  citizens,  women,  and  children 
harassed  the  invading  troops  by  hurling  bricks  and 
stones,  and  even  pouring  boiling  water  from  the 
windows  of  the  houses ;  but  ultimately  between 
seven  and  eight  thousand  of  the  Venetians  fell  in 
action,  or  were  butchered  as  they  attempted  to 
escape ;  while  the  loss  of  the  French  did  not  exceed 
fifty  men.  Unhappily,  these  no  sooner  saw  them- 
selves masters  of  the  city  than  the  most  brutal 
excesses  supervened.  Monasteries  and  convents 
were  invaded,  private  families  were  ruined  and 
disgraced,  and  the  gross  booty  secured  by  the 
conquerors  was  estimated  at  three  millions  of 
crowns  —  a  circumstance  which  ultimately  proved 
the  destruction  of  the  French  cause  in  Italy, 
numbers  of  the  individuals  thus  suddenly  enriched 
forsaking  their  posts  and  returning  to  their  homes ; 
enfeebling  the  army  of  De  Foix,  and  conducing  to 
the  fatal  termination  of  the  battle  of  Ravenna. 


72  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  hi 

Apprehensive,  despite  the  brilHant  commence- 
ment of  this  campaign,  that  the  coalition  formed 
against  him  might  prove  too  powerful  to  admit  of 
his  ultimate  success,  Louis  XII.  forwarded  instruc- 
tions to  the  young  prince  to  compel  the  enemy  to  a 
speedy  engagement  before  the  impression  produced 
by  his  recent  good  fortune  had  time  to  become 
weakened ;  and,  in  obedience  to  this  command,  the 
duke  advanced  upon  Ravenna  by  Finale  and 
Modena;  but  his  eagerness  to  engage  the  army 
of  the  league  was  not  greater  than  the  determina- 
tion of  Raymond  de  Cardona,  the  Viceroy  of 
Naples,  ^  to  evade  the  encounter.  Near  Bologna 
he  was  joined  by  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  whom  he 
appointed,  in  conjunction  with  La  Palice,  to  the 
command  of  the  vanguard ;  and  this  arrangement 
made,  he  advanced  to  Castel  St.  Piero,  where  he 
was  met  by  the  combined  armies  of  the  Pope  and 
the  King  of  Spain.  The  Cardinal  de'  Medici  (after- 
wards Leo  X.)  was  the  supreme  head  of  the  adverse 
forces,  of  which  the  military  command  was  entrusted 
to  Cardona,  Fabrizio  Colonna,^  and  the  Marquis  de 
Pescara. 

"  They  formed  one  of  the  finest  armies  for  its 
size,"  says  the  Loyal  Servant,  "  that  hath  ever  been 

1  Raymond  de  Cardona  was  a  man  of  great  personal  beauty  and 
insinuating  address,  but  devoid  of  both  courage  and  experience.  The 
Pope  generally  spoke  of  him  as  Madame  Cardona. 

2  Fabrizio  Colonna  was  a  celebrated  general.  He  was  the  son  of 
Edvardo  Colonna,  Duke  of  Amalfi,  and  served  in  the  armies  of  the 
king  of  Naples,  by  whom  he  was  appointed  Constable.  He  com- 
manded the  vanguard  at  the  battle  of  Ravenna,  where  he  was  taken 
prisoner.     He  died  in  1520. 


1 508-12  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  73 

seen,  and  one  of  the  best  appointed.  Don  Ray- 
munda  de  Cardona,  Viceroy  of  Naples,  was  at  the 
head  of  it,  and  had  with  him  twelve  or  fourteen 
hundred  gendarmes,  whereof  eight  hundred  rode 
barbed  horses.  They  were  all  gold  and  azure,  and 
mounted  on  the  best  chargers  and  Spanish  horses 
that  were  ever  beheld.  Moreover,  for  the  space  of 
two  years,  they  had  enjoyed  the  free  range  of 
Romagna,  a  good  and  fertile  land,  where  they  had 
provisions  to  their  hearts'  desire.  There  were  only 
twelve  thousand  foot — two  thousand  foot  under  the 
charge  of  a  Captain  Ramassot,  and  ten  thousand 
Spaniards,  Biscayens,  and  Navarrese,  conducted  by 
the  Count  Pietro  da  Navarro,^  who  was  captain- 
general  of  the  whole  body  of  infantry.  He  had 
formerly  led  his  men  into  Barbary  against  the 
Moors,  and  with  them  had  gained  two  or  three 
battles.  In  short,  they  were  all  men  experienced 
in  war,  and  skilled  to  a  marvel  in  the  exercise  of 
arms." 

This  brilliant  army  waited   under  the   walls    of 

1  Pietro  da  Navarro  was  bom  in  Biscay,  and  was  originally  a 
sailor;  he  afterwards  served  as  valet-de-pied  to  the  Cardinahof 
Aragon,  and  finally  enlisted  in  the  Florentine  army,  where  he  be- 
came conspicuous  for  his  bravery.  Gonsalvo  de  Cordova  employed 
him  in  the  Neapolitan  war,  with  the  rank  of  captain  ;  and  the 
emperor  recompensed  him  for  his  services,  at  the  taking  of  the 
capital,  with  the  title  of  Count  of  Alveto,  and  the  proceeds  of  that 
property.  He  failed  in  a  naval  expedition  against  the  Moors  in 
Africa,  and  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Ravenna.  Two 
years  subsequently  he  entered  into  the  service  ot  Francis  I.,  and 
distinguished  himself  upon  several  occasions  until  1522,  at  which 
period  he  was  made  captive  by  the  imperial  troops.  Retaken  a 
second  time  by  the  same  enemies  in  1528,  he  died  at  the  Chateau 
d'CEuf,  in  which  he  was  confined. 


74  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  hi 

Faenza  until  the  French  general  should  take  the 
Initiative,  which  he  speedily  did  ;  and,  after  having 
despatched  Bayard  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  posi- 
tion, he  at  once  prepared  to  give  them  battle. 
Cardona,  acting  upon  the  advice  of  Pietro  da 
Navarro,  had  resolved  to  keep  within  the  entrench- 
ments, but  the  guns  of  the  French  soon  compelled 
him  to  abandon  this  attempt,  and  they  were  no 
sooner  forced  than  the  engagement  became  general. 
For  eight  weary  hours  the  work  of  carnage  went 
on ;  but  the  Viceroy  of  Naples,  soon  losing  faith  in 
the  success  of  his  troops,  took  flight  early  in  the 
day  with  a  number  of  his  cavalry,  and  never  drew 
bit  until  he  had  reached  Ancona,  a  distance  of 
nearly  thirty  leagues. 

The  Due  de  Nemours  was  no  sooner  apprized  of 
this  fact  than  he  sent  the  Sire  Louis  d'Ars  and 
Bayard  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives,  many  of  whom 
were  overtaken  and  cut  to  pieces.  The  infantry, 
meanwhile,  remained  firm ;  but  after  having  re- 
ceived the  murderous  fire  of  the  artillery  of  the 
Duke  of  Ferrara,  as  well  as  that  of  the  French 
themselves,  they  became  shaken  ;  although  not  until 
the  French  foot,  which  had  been  exposed  through- 
out the  whole  action,  while  their  enemies  were 
partially  covered  by  the  ditch,  had  lost  thirty-eight 
out  of  the  forty  captains  who  accompanied  them  to 
the  field. 

When  he  saw  them  waver,  the  impetuosity  of 
Fabrizio  Colonna  could  no  longer  be  controlled ;  he 
beheld  not  only  his  own  safety  but  also  that  of  the 


I50S.I2  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  75 

brave  men  who  followed  him  perilled  by  the 
cowardice  of  the  recreant  Cardona,  whom  he  stig- 
matized as  the  "Miscreant  Moor;"  and,  disregard- 
ing the  orders  of  Navarro,  he  passed  out  of  the 
camp  with  a  small  body  of  cavalry  and  entered  the 
open  plain,  boldly  charging  the  centre  of  the  French 
forces.  It  was,  however,  too  late ;  his  troops  were 
already  enfeebled,  and  the  enemy  were  masters  of 
the  field.  After  a  desperate  but  hopeless  conflict, 
during  which  the  archers  of  the  guard,  being  unable 
in  the  m^^e  to  make  use  of  their  legitimate  weapons, 
availed  themselves  of  the  small  axes  which  they 
carried  in  their  belts,  and  with  which  they  made 
fearful  havoc,  the  fortune  of  the  day  was  soon 
decided.  Colonna  himself  was  made  prisoner  by 
Alphonso  d'Este,^  who  subsequently  granted  him 
both  liberty  and  life  ;  and  among  the  other  captives 
of  note  were  the  Cardinal  de'  Medici,  Count  Pietro 
da  Navarro,  the  Marquises  de  la  Paluda  and 
Pescara,  with  many  others  of  less  mark ;  while 
their  slain  amounted  to  nearly  sixteen  thousand 
men,  among  whom  were  many  of  their  bravest 
leaders. 


1  Alphonso  d'Este  succeeded  his  father  in  1505.  His  first  wife 
was  Anne,  sister  of  Galeas  Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan ;  and  his  second 
the  celebrated  Lucretia  Borgia,  daughter  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  League  of  Cambray,  when  Julius  II.  appointed 
him  standard-bearer  of  the  Roman  Church,  He  retook  the  Polesina 
de  Rovigo  from  the  Venetians,  and  never  would  adopt  their  interests. 
Excommunicated  and  declared  dispossessed  of  the  principality  of 
Ferrara,  he  only  escaped  the  vengeance  of  Julius  II.  by  a  timely 
flight.  He  died  in  1534,  after  having  reconquered  Bondeno,  Finale, 
San-Felice,  Garfagnano,  Lugo,  Bagnacavallo,  Reggio,  Rubiera,  and 
Modena.      He  was  immortalized  by  Ariosto. 


76  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  hi 

Nevertheless  the  victory  of  Ravenna  was  a 
melancholy  triumph  for  the  French  arms,  and 
bought  by  some  of  the  best  blood  of  the  nation. 
Two  companies  of  the  enemy  who  had  been  suc- 
cessfully engaged  with  some  Gascon  and  Picardy 
troops,  and  who  were  anxious  to  make  their  way 
to  Ravenna,  were  encountered  by  the  Bastard  du 
Tay,  and  compelled  to  retreat  along  the  canal. 
During  this  movement  some  of  the  number  fled, 
one  of  whom,  chancing  to  pass  near  the  Due  de 
Nemours,  and  anxious  to  escape  from  this  new 
danger,  answered  his  inquiry  by  declaring  that  the 
Spaniards  had  beaten  them  ;  an  announcement  which 
maddened  the  young  prince,  who  had  long  ere  this 
considered  the  victory  no  longer  doubtful,  and  who, 
rendered  desperate  by  his  fears,  sprang  upon  the 
causeway  by  which  the  two  bands  were  retreating, 
accompanied  only  by  fourteen  or  fifteen  gendarmes. 
Unfortunately  the  fugitives  had  reloaded  their  fire- 
locks, which  they  instantly  discharged,  and  then 
rushed  upon  the  little  party  with  their  pikes.  The 
position  of  the  duke  and  his  followers  did  not  admit 
of  their  defending  themselves  with  any  effect,  the 
causeway  being  narrow,  and  bordered  on  one  hand 
by  the  canal  and  on  the  other  by  an  impassable 
ditch  ;  but  they,  nevertheless,  struggled  bravely  to 
the  last,  nor  did  they  yield  until  every  man  was 
either  killed  or  disabled.  The  duke's  horse  was 
hamstrung,  upon  which  he  flung  himself  to  the 
ground,  and  continued  the  fight  on  foot ;  Adet  de 
Foix,   Sire  de   Lautrec,   who  was  beside  him,  de- 


IS08-I2  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  77 

fended  him  with  his  own  body  until  he  fell  covered 
with  wounds,  and  he  then  exerted  all  his  remaining 
strength  in  calling  out  to  the  Spaniards  to  spare  the 
life  of  the  prince,  who  was  the  brother  of  their 
queen.  The  appeal,  however,  was  made  in  vain, 
and  the  unhappy  young  hero  fell  covered  with 
wounds.  "  From  the  chin  to  the  forehead,"  says 
the  Loyal  Servant  with  affectionate  simplicity,  "  he 
had  fourteen  or  fifteen — clear  proof  that  the  gentle 
prince  had  never  turned  his  back." 

Thus,  in  his  twenty-third  year,  fell  the  brave 
Gaston  de  Foix,  by  the  hands  of  a  small  band  of 
fugitives,  in  whom  his  very  name  inspired  terror. 
Within  three  months  he  had  gained  four  battles ; 
the  future  was  bright  before  him  ;  he  was  the  idol  of 
the  army  which  he  led ;  and  secret  treaties  had 
already  been  set  on  foot  to  secure  to  him  the  king- 
dom of  Naples.  But  now  all  was  over,  and  the 
maimed  and  disfigured  corpse  was  borne  through 
the  camp  amid  the  tears  and  lamentations  of  those 
who  had  so  lately  thrilled  at  his  battle-cry. 

The  brave  young  Sire  de  Viverots,  the  only  son 
of  the  Seigneur  Yves  d'Allegre,  who  was  in  the 
train  of  the  prince,  fell  mortally  wounded  into  the 
canal,  where  he  perished  miserably ;  and  his  father 
also  perished  during  a  charge  of  infantry.  Lautrec, 
although  grievously  wounded,  ultimately  recovered  ; 
but  the  slaughter  in  the  French  army  was  estimated 
at  six  thousand  men,  among  whom  were  many 
great  and  noble  names.  Well  might  Louis  XII., 
when  congratulated  upon  the  conquest  of  Ravenna, 


78  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I      chap,  hi 

exclaim,  in  the  regret  and  sadness  of  his  spirit : 
*'  Wish  my  enemies  such  victories  !  " 

On  the  day  after  the  battle  the  French  adven- 
turers and  lansquenets  pillaged  the  ill-fated  city, 
despite  the  opposition  of  the  Sire  de  la  Palice,  who 
had  been  unanimously  elected  general-in-chief  of  the 
army  after  the  death  of  Gaston  de  Foix.  Ravenna 
had  capitulated,  and  he  had  consequently  been 
anxious  to  spare  to  its  inhabitants  the  horrors  of 
a  sack.  His  anxiety  was,  however,  unavailing  ;  the 
volunteers  and  mercenaries  of  his  army  entered  the 
gates  by  stratagem,  and  the  unhappy  and  conquered 
citizens  were  outraged  and  despoiled. 

At  this  juncture  intelligence  reached  the  French 
army  from  the  Seigneur  Trivulzio  that  the  Venetians 
and  Swiss  were  contemplating  a  descent  upon  the 
duchy  of  Milan,  and  that  suspicions  were  entertained 
of  the  good  faith  of  the  emperor ;  upon  which  it  was 
decided  that  they  should  immediately  return  to  the 
Milanese,  carrying  with  them  the  body  of  Gaston, 
which  was  interred  within  the  Dome  with  regal 
pomp,  upwards  of  ten  thousand  mourners  following 
it  to  the  grave,  the  greater  number  mounted  and  in 
deep  sables  ;  while  forty  standards,  which  had  been 
captured  from  the  enemy,  were  borne  before  him 
trailing  in  the  dust,  and  his  own  banners  held  aloft 
immediately  in  the  rear,  as  emblematic  of  their 
triumph  over  these  prostrate  trophies. 

The  battle  of  Ravenna  cost  Louis  XII.  one  of 
the  brightest  jewels  of  his  crown. 


CHAPTER    IV 

1513 

Effects  of  the  battle  of  Ravenna — Religious  scruples  of  the  queen — The  Pope 
raises  a  force  in  Switzerland — The  emperor  withdraws  his  subjects  from 
the  French  army — Maximilian  Sforza  enters  Milan — The  Genoese  revolt 
— Lord  Dorset  lands  in  Spain,  is  disgusted,  and  withdraws — Intrigues 
of  Ferdinand — Louis  XI L  invests  Francis  with  the  command  of  the  army 
of  the  Milanese — The  Spanish  general  declines  his  challenge — The  French 
raise  their  camp  before  Pampeluna,  and  repass  the  Alps — Light-hearted- 
ness  of  Francis — A  prince  and  an  advocate — Licentiousness  of  Francis — 
Ancient  notions  of  piety — France  enters  into  a  league  with  the  Venetian 
states — Treaty  of  marriage  between  the  Archduke  Charles  and  the  Prin- 
cesse  Renee — Union  of  Venice  with  France — Death  of  Julius  II. — 
Accession  of  Leo  X. — His  enmity  to  France — Louis  XII.  endeavours  to 
propitiate  him,  but  fails — He  concludes  a  truce  with  Ferdinand  and  the 
Venetians — The  Swiss  take  up  arms  against  France — Ferdinand  and 
Henry  VIII.  join  the  cause  of  the  Pope — Louis  again  invades  the  Milan- 
ese— Takes  the  principal  cities — Battle  of  Vivegano — The  French  are 
driven  from  the  ^lilanese — Louis  mortgages  a  portion  of  the  crown  land 
— Henry  VIII.  invades  France,  and  besieges  Terouenne — Louis  proceeds 
to  Calais — Bayard  captures  an  English  gun — Famine  in  the  city — Maxi- 
milian joins  the  English  king — The  battle  of  the  Spurs — Bayard  wins  his 
ransom — Honours  rendered  to  Bayard  by  Maximilian  and  Henry  VIII. — 
Louis  withdraws  his  army  into  Picardy. 

The  consternation  created  in  France  by  the  dearly- 
bought  victory  of  Ravenna  was  not  less  deep  in 
Rome.  The  holy  conclave  saw,  in  the  success  of 
the  French  arms,  the  ultimate  subjugation  of  Italy, 
and  were  alarmed  accordingly.  Bitter  as  the  con- 
cession could  not  fail  to  be,  they  urged  the  Pope  to 
offer  terms  to  Louis,  which  might  avert  the  evil ; 
and  Julius  appeared  inclined  to  satisfy  their  wishes, 
but  at  that  precise  juncture  the  arrival  of  Giulio  de' 


8o  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

Medici  at  Rome  once  more  determined  him  to  pursue 
his  own  designs.  He  came  on  a  mission  from  his 
cousin,  the  captive  cardinal,  whom  he  had  visited  in 
his  prison,  after  having  himself  fled  from  the  field 
with  Cardona ;  and  now  hastened  to  see  the  Pope, 
in  the  name  of  his  relative,  and  to  represent  to  him 
the  crippled  condition  of  the  French  army  bereft  of 
its  general.  He  found  instant  attention.  Julius  had 
already  secured  the  support  of  the  vacillating  Maxi- 
milian ;  he  was  aware  that  Louis,  continually  ha- 
rassed by  the  pious  scruples  of  the  queen  —  who, 
never  having  regained  her  health  after  the  birth  of 
the  Princesse  Renee,  either  felt,  or  affected  to  feel, 
that  her  sufferings  were  a  consequence  of  the  unholy 
and  sacrilegious  warfare  in  which  he  was  engaged 
— would  gladly  terminate  the  struggle  ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, he  refused  all  overtures  towards  a  reconcilia- 
tion, and  instructed  the  Cardinal  of  Sion  to  raise  as 
many  Swiss  troops  as  might  offer  themselves,  in 
order  to  effect  a  descent  into  the  Milanese,  under 
the  specious  pretext  of  restoring  the  duchy  to  the 
young  Maximilian  Sforza,  the  son  of  Ludovic  the 
Moor.' 

1  Ludovic-Maria  Sforza,  surnamed  the  Moor,  in  consequence  of 
his  dark  complexion,  put  to  death  Simonetta,  the  tutor  of  his  nephew, 
Guan-Galeazo,  and  exiled  the  regent,  Bona  de  Savoie,  in  order  to 
govern  in  the  name  of  his  young  relative.  Irritated  by  the  threats  of 
the  King  of  Naples,  the  father-in-law  of  the  duke,  he  invited  Charles 
VIII.  to  enter  Italy,  hoping  to  retain  the  Milanese  by  a  promise  to 
support  him  in  his  attempt  at  the  conquest  of  Naples.  Guan-Galeazo 
having  died  by  poison  in  1494,  Ludovic  caused  himself  to  be  recog- 
nized as  Duke  of  Milan,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  son  of  that  prince  ; 
but,  ere  long,  alarmed  by  the  successes  of  the  French,  he  leagued 
himself  with  the  other  Italian  states  against  them,  and  compelled  them 
to  repass  the  Alps.      A  second  invasion  of  the  French  under  Louis 


1 5 13  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  8i 

The  Swiss  answered  readily  to  the  call  of  the 
Pope,  and  engaged  themselves  to  the  number  of 
twenty  thousand  in  his  service ;  while  Maximilian, 
although  still  considered  as  the  ally  of  France  and 
the  enemy  of  the  Venetians,  did  not  hesitate  to 
accord  to  the  latter,  on  the  receipt  of  an  equivalent 
in  money,  a  truce  of  ten  months  ;  with  permission  for 
the  Swiss  to  march  through  his  territories,  in  order 
to  join  them  in  their  attack  upon  the  army  of  Louis. 

La  Palice,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  command 
on  the  death  of  the  Due  de  Nemours,  made  every 
preparation  for  resistance  ;  but  his  exertions  were 
rendered  nugatory  by  the  fact  that,  on  the  day  which 
succeeded  his  occupation  of  the  fortress  of  Pontevico 
as  a  central  position,  whence  he  could  communicate 
with  the  other  divisions  of  his  army,  a  letter  arrived 
from  the  emperor,  commanding  all  his  subjects  to 
withdraw  from  the  French  service ;  and  as  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  his  troops  were  German  lans- 
quenets, M.  de  la  Palice  at  once  saw  himself  rendered 
powerless,  and  was  enabled  with  difficulty  to  retreat 
to  A  St.  The  young  Archduke  Maximilian  entered 
Milan  without  opposition ;  the  Genoese  revolted, 
and  elected  as  their  doge  one  of  the  Fregosi,  a 
declared  enemy  to  France  ;  and  the  vaunt  of  Julius, 
that  he  would  expel  the  barbarians  from  Italy,  was 
at  length  accomplished. 

Nor  was  the  loss  of  the  Milanese  the  only  subject 

XII.  dispossessed  him  of  his  duchy.  He  was  taken  prisoner  before 
Novara,  and  conveyed  to  France,  where  he  lived  ten  years  a  captive 
in  the  castle  of  Loches.     He  died  in  1510. 

VOL.  I  6 


82  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

of  disquietude  to  which  Louis  was  at  this  period 
exposed.  Ferdinand  of  Spain,  who  was  anxious 
to  possess  himself  of  Navarre,  had  entered  into  a 
negotiation  with  Henry  VIII.,  in  which  he  professed 
a  desire  to  regain  Guienne,  to  which  England  still 
affected  a  claim,  and  solicited  a  passage  through  the 
kingdom  of  Navarre,  which  was  refused,  upon  the 
plea  that  the  king  had  resolved  to  observe  a  strict 
neutrality.  The  Marquis  of  Dorset,  who  had 
already  landed  in  Spain  with  a  force  of  fifty  thousand 
men  and  marched  towards  the  French  frontier,  was 
no  sooner  apprized  of  this  circumstance  than  he 
applied  to  the  Spanish  king  for  further  instructions  ; 
when  Ferdinand,  who  had  only  sought  for  help  from 
England  in  order  to  effect  the  conquest  of  Navarre, 
of  which  Jean  d'Albret  was  the  sovereign  in  right  of 
his  wife,  the  spirited  but  unfortunate  Catherine  de 
Foix,  endeavoured  to  impress  upon  the  English 
general  the  necessity  of  conquering  that  country 
before  the  attempt  upon  Guienne  could  be  accom- 
plished ;  a  proof  of  perfidy  which  so  disgusted  the 
marquis  that  he  at  once  abandoned  his  cause  and 
withdrew  with  his  troops,  who  had  already  suffered 
severely  from  the  effects  of  the  climate. 

Nevertheless  Ferdinand  pursued  his  purpose,  and 
demanded  from  the  Navarrese  sovereigns  that  they 
should  place  in  his  hands  either  the  Prince  de  Viane, 
their  son,  or  all  the  fortified  places  throughout  their 
dominions,  as  a  guarantee  that  they  would  offer  no 
assistance  to  France  against  the  Holy  League  ;  but 
Jean  d'Albret,  aware  that  he  could  place  no  reliance 


I5I3  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  Zz 

upon  the  word  of  the  Spanish  king,  after  having  in 
vain  protested  his  intention  of  remaining  neuter,  and 
perceiving  that  the  Duke  of  Alva  was  advancing 
into  his  territories  at  the  head  of  the  Aragonnese 
army,  caused  his  queen  to  retire  to  Beam,  and  threw 
himself  into  Pampeluna,  where  he  awaited  in  vain 
for  a  time  the  arrival  of  succour  from  France.  Nor 
did  he  even  find  support  from  his  own  subjects,  who, 
far  from  taking  up  arms  in  defence  of  their  country, 
talked  only  of  submission ;  and  he  at  length  found 
himself  compelled  to  retreat  beyond  the  Pyrenees, 
when  Pampeluna  opened  its  gates  to  the  Duke  of 
Alva,  an  example  which  was  followed  by  all  the  cities 
of  Spanish  Navarre  within  the  space  of  a  few  days. 

Louis  XII.,  disheartened  as  he  was  by  a  series  of 
reverses  which  had  overthrown  all  the  previous 
glory  of  the  French  arms  ;  driven  from  Italy  ;  shorn 
of  his  allies,  all  of  whom  had  suffered  like  himself; 
and  menaced  upon  his  frontiers  by  the  emperor,  the 
Swiss,  the  Low  Countries,  England,  and  Spain — 
could  not,  however,  see  the  King  of  Navarre,  whose 
allegiance  to  himself  had  been  the  alleged  pretext 
for  his  overthrow,  thus  made  the  spoil  of  his 
treacherous  enemy  ;  and  he  accordingly  marched  an 
army  to  his  assistance,  under  the  joint  command  of 
the  Dues  de  Bourbon  and  de  Longueville  ;^  but  as 
these  two  powerful  nobles  could  not  agree  upon 
points  of  precedence,   and  their   misunderstanding 

1  The  Due  de  Longueville  was  a  descendant  of  the  famous  illegi- 
timate branch  of  the  house  of  Orleans,  originating  in  the  brave  Jehan, 
Comte  de  Dunois,  the  natural  son  of  Louis,  Due  d'Orleans,  brother 
of  Charles  VI. 


84  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

was  likely  to  injure  the  interests  of  the  expedition, 
Louis  decided  upon  investing  the  young  Due  de 
Valois  with  the  supreme  command. 

Inflamed  by  the  glorious  example  of  the  youthful 
Gaston  de  Foix,  his  predecessor,  Francis  eagerly 
assumed  the  post  thus  tendered  to  him,  and  had 
no  sooner  reached  the  camp  than  he  marched  the 
French  forces  to  Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port,  of  which 
Colonel  Villalva  had  possessed  himself,  and  where 
the  Duke  of  Alva  had  shortly  afterwards  taken  up 
his  position  with  the  whole  of  his  army.  The 
troops  which  had  lately  evacuated  Italy  joined  the 
forces  of  the  Due  de  Valois ;  and  La  Palice,  their 
most  experienced  general,  became  his  counsellor. 

On  arriving  near  the  position  of  the  enemy, 
Francis  endeavoured  to  force  them  to  an  engage- 
ment ;  and  for  this  purpose  sent  a  message  of 
defiance  to  the  Spanish  general,  which  was,  how- 
ever, declined ;  whereupon  La  Palice  seized  the 
pass  of  the  valley  of  Roncal,  one  of  the  mediums 
of  communication  between  Navarre  and  Beam ; 
and  in  the  course  of  the  month  of  October  con- 
ducted one  of  the  three  (divisions  of  the  French 
army  by  this  defile  within  two  leagues  of  Pampe- 
luna,  under  the  nominal  command  of  the  King  of 
Navarre ;  while  the  Due  de  Bourbon  overran 
Guipuscoa,  taking  and  demolishing  several  fortified 
places ;  and  the  remaining  division  held  the  Duke 
of  Alva  in  check  at  Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. 
Nevertheless  the  Spanish  general  succeeded  in 
occupying  Roncevaux  a  few  hours  before  La  Palice, 


15 13  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  85 

and  thence  marched  into  Pampeluna,  where  he 
was  besieged  by  the  French  troops.  It  was,  how- 
ever, too  late  to  retrieve  the  fatal  mistake  which 
had  been  made  in  suffering  him  to  reach  the  city. 
The  weather  had  become  severe,  snow  had  fallen 
to  a  great  depth,  provisions  were  scarce  and  un- 
certain, and  the  roads  almost  impassable  for  artillery. 
Moreover  the  Aragonnese  were  advancing  on  all 
sides  to  support  the  besieged  city,  and  after  a 
few  inconsequent  skirmishes  the  French  were 
compelled  to  strike  their  camp  and  to  demolish 
the  battery  which  they  had  raised,  in  order  to 
repass  the  Pyrenees ;  an  effort  which  they  only 
accomplished  at  the  expense  of  their  heavy  baggage 
and  thirteen  cannon  taken  by  the  Spaniards  during 
their  retreat. 

Unpropitious  as  the  campaign  had  proved,  it  had 
at  least  enabled  the  young  prince  to  display  alike 
the  talent  and  the  courage  which  gave  earnest 
of  his  future  prowess  ;  and  he  was  received  on  his 
return  with  all  the  honour  due  to  a  more  successful 
general.  The  gloom  which  overhung  the  nation 
could  not  quell  the  animal  spirits  consequent  upon 
his  youth  and  temperament ;  and  while  his  royal 
uncle  was  absorbed  in  anxiety  and  irresolution  as 
to  the  new  alliance  which  it  had  become  imperative 
upon  him  to  form  either  with  the  emperor  or  the 
Venetians,  in  order  to  make  head  against  the 
enemies  by  whom  he  was  threatened,  Francis 
entered  with  enthusiasm  into  all  the  amusements 
of  the  capital ;  and  at  the  head  of  a  reckless  band 


86  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

of  young  nobles  indulged  himself  in  every  species 
of  dissipation. 

The  extreme  youth  of  his  affianced  wife  offering 
no  check  to  his  libertine  propensities,  they  soon 
became  uncontrollable ;  and  it  was  at  this  period 
that  he  formed  a  liaison  which  affords  upon  several 
points  so  perfect  an  insight  into  his  character  that 
it  cannot  be  passed  over  in  silence. 

A  certain  advocate  in  Paris,  whose  professional 
acumen  and  skill  had  secured  to  him  an  immense 
reputation,  had  married,  in  the  decline  of  life,  a 
beautiful  young  girl  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  years 
of  age,  whose  parents,  dazzled  by  the  wealth  and 
station  of  the  suitor,  had  induced  her  to  bestow 
her  hand  upon  him.  Unfortunately  for  both  parties, 
she  acted  only  up  to  the  strict  letter  of  her  bond ; 
and,  although  surrounded  by  luxury  and  indulgence, 
rather  tolerated  than  loved  the  husband  who  had 
thus  been  forced  upon  her.  Nevertheless,  although 
fond  of  pleasure  and  admiration,  her  conduct  had 
been  sufficiently  circumspect  to  satisfy  the  worthy 
advocate,  who,  conscious  that  he  was  no  longer 
of  an  age  to  command  the  devotion  of  a  young 
and  pretty  woman,  suffered  her  to  participate  in  all 
the  amusements  which  were  offered  to  her  accept- 
ance without  objection  or  mistrust.  It  chanced,  how- 
ever, that  at  a  marriage  festival  she  was  remarked 
by  the  young  Due  de  Valois,  who,  although  only 
in  his  sixteenth  year,  had  already  begun  to  yield 
to  that  passionate  admiration  of  female  beauty 
which    throughout   life   formed   one   of  the   distin- 


I5I3  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  87 

guishing  features  of  his  character,  and  who,  despite 
the  indulgent  testimony  of  Madame  d'Alen9on  and 
Brantome,  his  unconipromising  panegyrists,  sacri- 
ficed to  this  licentious  propensity  not  only  his 
sense  of  personal  dignity  but  even  his  respect  for 
religion,  the  semblance  of  which  he  did  not  scruple 
to  assume  in  order  to  veil  his  irregularities.  Upon 
the  occasion  just  named,  the  prince  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  fair  citizen  ;  nor  did  he  hesitate 
before  the  close  of  the  evening  to  declare  to  her  the 
passion  with  which  she  had  inspired  him.  The 
young  beauty  listened  without  displeasure,  for  she 
was  aware  of  the  rank  of  her  new  admirer,  and  her 
vanity  was  flattered  by  such  a  conquest ;  nor  was  it 
long  ere  she  yielded  to  his  passionate  protestations 
so  far  as  to  consent  to  receive  him  under  the  roof 
of  her  husband  when  that  husband  should  be  from 
home.  Accordingly  a  rendezvous  was  appointed, 
and  the  prince,  disguised  in  order  that  the  honour 
of  the  lady  might  not  be  unnecessarily  compromised, 
directed  his  steps  towards  her  residence,  accom- 
panied by  certain  of  his  gentlemen,  whom  he  quitted 
at  the  entrance  of  the  street ;  directing  them,  should 
they  hear  no  noise  within  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
to  retire  where  they  pleased,  but  to  return  during 
the  course  of  the  night  in  order  to  conduct  him  back 
to  the  palace  ;  after  which  he  proceeded  to  the 
house  of  the  advocate,  where  he  found  the  door 
unfastened,  as  had  been  previously  arranged,  and 
hastened  to  ascend  the  staircase  to  the  apartment 
of  the  lady.     It  appeared,  however,  that  the  hus- 


88  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

band,  from  some  cause  or  other,  had  returned  home 
unexpectedly,  and  the  young  prince  had  not  reached 
the  first  floor  ere  he  encountered  him,  taper  in 
hand,  and  was  aware  that  retreat  had  already  be- 
come impossible.  In  this  emergency  the  precocious 
presence  of  mind  of  Francis  did  not  desert  him  for 
an  instant,  but  courteously  greeting  the  man  of  law 
with  a  smile  upon  his  lips,  he  said  in  his  blandest 
tone : — 

"  M.  I'Avocat,  you  know  the  confidence  which 
I  and  all  the  princes  of  my  house  have  ever  placed 
in  your  probity,  and  that  I  have  ever  considered 
you  to  be  one  of  my  best  and  most  faithful  servants; 
I  have,  in  consequence,  come  privately  to  visit  you, 
in  order  to  request  that  you  will  be  careful  of  my 
interests ;  and  also  to  beg  that  you  will  give  me 
a  draught  of  wine,  of  which  I  stand  greatly  in  need. 
Be  careful,  however,  not  to  suffer  any  one  to  know 
that  you  have  seen  me,  as  I  am  going  hence  to  a 
place  where  I  do  not  wish  to  be  recognized." 

The  worthy  advocate,  delighted  that  the  prince 
should  confer  upon  him  so  great  a  mark  of  con- 
descension and  esteem,  was  profuse  in  his  profes- 
sions and  acknowledgments ;  and,  leading  the  way, 
conducted  his  unexpected  guest  to  his  best  apart- 
ment, where  he  desired  his  wife  to  set  forth  the 
best  collation  of  fruits  and  sweetmeats  she  could 
collect — an  order  which  was  promptly  and  efficiently 
obeyed  ;  and  while  she  was  thus  engaged  the  young 
duke  continued  to  converse  with  his  host  upon 
his  private  and   pecuniary  business,   without   once 


15 1 3  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  89 

turning  his  eyes  upon  her  after  the  first  courtesies 
had  been  exchanged.  At  length,  however,  the 
lady  dropped  upon  her  knee  as  she  presented  to 
him  the  refreshment  he  had  required ;  and  while 
her  husband  was  pouring  out  a  goblet  of  wine  at 
the  sideboard  whispered  to  him  not  to  leave  the 
house,  but  to  conceal  himself  in  a  wardrobe  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  gallery,  where  she  would  soon 
join  him.  When  he  had  swallowed  the  wine,  the 
young  prince  made  his  acknowledgments  to  the 
advocate,  took  an  indifferent  leave  of  the  lady,  and 
rose  to  depart ;  but  as  the  unsuspicious  lawyer  pre- 
pared to  escort  him,  taper  in  hand,  on  his  return, 
he  stopped  him  with  a  gesture  of  his  hand,  declaring 
that  he  required  no  attendance,  and  would  rather 
gain  the  street  alone  in  darkness.  Then,  turning 
to  the  lady,  he  said  courteously :  "  Moreover, 
Madame,  I  will  not  deprive  you  of  the  companion- 
ship of  your  good  husband,  who  is  one  of  my  oldest 
servants,  and  whom  you  are  very  happy  to  possess ; 
a  happiness  for  which  you  should  praise  God,  and 
both  cherish  and  obey  him,  for  should  you  do 
otherwise  you  would  be  very  blamable."  Having 
said  these  words,  he  withdrew,  carefully  closing  the 
door  behind  him,  in  order  not  to  be  detected  in 
his  purpose ;  and,  once  enclosed  in  his  place  of 
retreat,  awaited  the  promised  summons  of  his  frail 
conquest,  who  did  not  fail  to  fulfil  her  engagement. 

Had  the  adventure  ended  here  and  thus,  we 
would  not  have  sullied  our  pages  with  its  record ; 
but  such  was  far  from  being  the  case ;  the  beauty 


90  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

and  devotion  of  the  handsome  citizen  had  enthralled 
the  heart  of  Francis ;  and  as  their  liaison  lasted  for 
a  considerable  period  he  became  anxious  to  abridge 
the  distance  between  them,  and  for  this  purpose 
passed  habitually  through  the  cloisters  of  a  mon- 
astery, with  whose  prior  he  ultimately  rendered 
himself  so  great  a  favourite  that  the  porter  was 
instructed  to  leave  the  gates  open  for  him  until 
midnight,  and  to  give  him  egress  at  any  hour  when 
he  might  be  required  to  do  so.  As  the  house  of 
the  advocate  was  situated  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood of  this  monastery,  he  always  entered  the 
holy  pile  unattended ;  and  although  he  traversed 
it  rapidly  on  his  way  to  his  appointment,  he  never 
failed  on  his  return — fresh  from  the  pollution  of  his 
orgy,  and  yet  flushed  with  the  fever  of  his  sin — 
to  remain  for  a  considerable  period  in  prayer  in 
the  silent  chapel,  to  the  marvel  and  edification  of 
the  community,  who,  on  entering  the  sacred  fane 
for  matin  service,  constantly  found  him  on  his 
knees  before  the  altar ! 

Divided,  as  we  have  already  stated,  between 
Maximilian  and  the  Venetians,  Louis  was  unable 
to  decide  upon  his  course  of  action ;  but,  strongly 
urged  by  his  council  rather  to  trust  to  the  good 
faith  of  the  latter  than  to  place  any  trust  in  the 
emperor,  he  at  length  consented ;  and  a  league, 
defensive  and  offensive,  was  entered  into  by  France 
with  the  state  of  Venice,  at  the  urgent  entreaty  of 
Trivulzio.  Nevertheless,  Louis,  in  his  secret  heart, 
still  inclined  towards  Maximilian.     He  was  dazzled 


15 13  FRANCIS  THE  FIRST  91 

by  the  imperial  dignity,  and  influenced  by  Anne  de  • 
Bretagne,  who  was  ambitious  to  unite  her  second 
daughter,  as  she  had  previously  been  to  marry  her 
first,  to  Charles  of  Austria,  in  whom  she  saw  a 
future  emperor.  A  treaty  to  this  effect  was  conse- 
quently commenced,  in  which  it  was  stipulated  that 
the  Princesse  Renee  should  convey  to  her  husband, 
as  her  dowry,  all  the  rights  of  France  over  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  the  duchy  of  Milan,  and  the 
republic  of  Genoa.  To  these  conditions  the  em- 
peror affected  to  consent,  but  he  exacted,  as  a 
preliminary,  that  the  young  princess  should  be  con- 
signed to  his  charge,  and  be  educated  at  his  Court 
— a  precaution  in  which  he  was  undoubtedly  autho- 
rized, when  he  remembered  how  his  own  marriage 
with  Anne  de  Bretagne  and  those  of  his  daughter 
Marguerite  and  his  grandson  Charles,  had  been  un- 
ceremoniously set  aside  by  France.  The  French 
monarch,  however,  refused  to  accede  to  such  terms ; 
nor  could  Anne  be  induced,  even  when  her  ambition 
was  aroused,  to  separate  herself  from  her  infant 
daughter. 

Meanwhile  the  treaty  with  the  Venetians  was 
accomplished,  and  those  who  had  so  lately  met  as 
enemies  were  collected  under  the  same  banners. 
La  Tremouille  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  forces  with  which  Louis  still  hoped  to  re- 
conquer the  Milanese ;  and  D'Alviano,  who  had 
been  retained  a  captive  since  the  battle  of  Agna- 
dello,  was  restored  to  liberty  and  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  Venetian  army. 


92  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

While  the  approaching  war  was  thus  still  in 
abeyance,  and  it  was  as  yet  impossible  to  decide 
who  would  act  as  allies  and  who  as  enemies  dur- 
ing the  next  campaign,  Julius  was  indefatigable  in 
undermining  the  interests  of  France ;  while  he 
menaced,  each  in  their  turn,  the  Duke  of  Ferrara, 
the  republics  of  Venice,  of  Lucca,  of  Sienna,  and  of 
Genoa ;  Ferdinand  of  Spain,  the  Medici  at  Flo- 
rence, and  the  Baglioni  at  Perousa — in  short,  all 
the  powers  who  were  not  sufficiently  pliable  in  his 
hands,  and  who  disputed  his  entire  supremacy.  But 
in  the  midst  of  an  arrogance  by  which  the  general 
peace  of  Europe  was  threatened  he  was  seized  in 
the  spring  of  1 5 1 3  with  a  fever,  followed  by  dysen- 
tery, which  soon  assumed  a  serious  aspect ;  notwith- 
standing which  the  restless  and  ambitious  old  man, 
so  soon  to  be  called  before  a  tribunal  from  which 
he,  even  as  the  sovereign  pontiff,  had  no  appeal, 
laboured  to  the  last  in  the  partial  completion  of  the 
work  which  he  had  so  zealously  commenced  ;  and 
having  assembled  all  the  cardinals  about  him  to 
confirm  a  bull  which  he  had  fulminated,  and  secured, 
so  far  as  he  was  able  to  do  so,  the  independence  of 
the  conclave  which  was  to  name  his  successor,  he 
expired  on  the  evening  of  the  21st  of  February, 
exclaiming,  in  his  last  moments,  "  Out  with  the 
French  from  Italy  !     Out  with  Alphonso  d'Este !  " 

Although  the  death  of  Julius  II.  had  undoubtedly 
delivered  France  from  an  implacable  enemy,  it  still 
remained  questionable  how  far  she  would  profit  by 
the  rule  of  his  successor.     The  Cardinal  de  Medici, 


15 13  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  93 

who  assumed  the  triple  crown  under  the  title  of 
Leo  X.,  was  a  man  of  high  birth  and  acknowledged 
acquirements ;  but  although  on  ascending  the  papal 
chair  he  had  declared  his  anxiety  to  maintain  the 
peace  of  Europe,  it  could  not  fail  to  be  remarked 
that  he  had  chosen  for  the  ceremony  of  his  corona- 
tion the  anniversary  of  the  very  day  upon  which  he 
had  been  made  prisoner  by  the  French  at  the  battle 
of  Ravenna,  and  that  he  even  rode  the  same  horse 
which  carried  him  upon  that  occasion.  Moreover, 
he  had  not  been  indebted  for  his  liberty  to  any 
respect  felt  by  his  enemies  for  his  sacred  character, 
as  he  had  been  rescued  from  the  hands  of  Trivulzio 
by  some  insurgent  peasantry ;  while  the  revolution, 
which  had  restored  to  his  family  their  rule  in  Flo- 
rence, had  been  undertaken  in  hatred  towards  the 
French.  Nevertheless  Louis  XI L  was  anxious  to 
effect  a  reconciliation  with  the  Holy  See ;  while  the 
queen,  still  more  eager  than  himself  to  make  her 
peace  with  the  Church,  urged  him  continually  to 
propose  such  terms  to  Leo  as  might  tend  to  that 
result.  Accordingly,  the  French  king  offered  to 
submit  the  arrangement  of  a  peace  to  the  judg- 
ment and  justice  of  the  sovereign  pontiff,  on  con- 
dition that  no  opposition  should  be  made  to  his 
designs  on  Milan.  However,  the  concession  was 
met  with  evasive  coldness,  and  Louis  became  at 
once  aware  that  Leo  X.  was  bent,  like  his  prede- 
cessor, upon  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  Italy. 
He  therefore  hesitated  no  longer  ;  but,  concluding 
a  treaty  of  peace  for  twelve  months  with  Ferdinand 


94  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

of  Spain,  and  ratifying  that  into  which  he  had  en- 
tered with  the  Venetian  States,  endeavoured  once 
more  to  induce  the  Swiss  to  enter  into  his  interests. 
Here,  however,  he  was  destined  to  disappointment ; 
they  would  scarcely  listen  to  the  proposals  of  his 
ambassador,  and  conceded  no  more  than  that  they 
would  continue  favourable  to  Louis  so  long  as  he 
attempted  nothing  against  either  the  Pope  or  the 
Duke  of  Milan,  whom  they  had,  as  they  affirmed, 
taken  under  their  protection.  And  when  they  dis- 
covered that  the  French  monarch,  undismayed  by 
their  opposition,  was  resolved  to  enforce  his  claims, 
they  at  once  took  up  arms  to  oppose  his  entrance 
into  Italy. 

Leo,  meanwhile,  had  not  been  idle.  With  little 
difficulty  he  induced  the  hollow-hearted  Ferdinatid 
once  more  to  break  his  faith  with  the  French  king, 
and  even  to  induce  Henry  VHL,  his  son-in-law,  to 
invade  France,  and  to  secure  the  co-operation  of 
Maximilian,  by  the  payment  of  one  hundred  thousand 
crowns  for  the  maintenance  of  his  army.  Yet  Louis 
still  persevered.  Indignant  at  the  bad  faith  of  his 
false  allies,  exasperated  by  the  cool  impassibility  of 
the  Pope,  and  more  than  ever  anxious  to  regain 
the  supremacy  of  the  Milanese,  he  marched  a  for- 
midable army  into  Italy,  under  the  command  of 
La  Tremouille,  who,  fourteen  years  previously,  had 
taken  Milan  and  made  prisoner  Ludovico  Sforza. 
Nor  was  his  confidence  misplaced,  for  that  general 
crossed  the  Alps  before  the  Swiss  were  cognizant 
of  his  design,  relieved  Milan,  and  took  possession 


15 13  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  95 

of  Ast  and  Alessandria.  The  star  of  Louis  was 
once  more  in  the  ascendant.  His  fleet  made  them- 
selves masters  of  Genoa,  the  Venetians  attacked 
and  gained  Cremona,  and  everything  appeared  to 
favour  the  French  arms  and  to  promise  a  speedy 
and  glorious  termination  to  the  war.  Ultimately 
La  Tremouille  arrived  before  Novara,  and  com- 
menced the  attack,  but  soon  discovered  that  he  had 
been  premature.  A  breach  had  been  effected,  but 
at  the  moment  when  he  was  about  to  avail  himself 
of  it  he  received  intelligence  that  a  strong  re- 
inforcement was  coming  up ;  when,  convinced  too 
late  of  the  error  which  he  had  committed,  and  for- 
getting that  it  could  now  only  be  retrieved  by  pur- 
suing the  advantage  he  had  gained,  he  withdrew  to 
Vivegano,  a  distance  of  about  two  miles,  and  thus 
enabled  the  enemy  to  enter  Novara  during  the 
night,  where  a  council  was  immediately  called,  by 
which  it  was  decided  to  attack  the  French  camp. 
This  bold  resolution  was  acted  upon  without  delay, 
and  the  Swiss  accordingly  commenced  their  march 
before  midnight.  Well  acquainted  with  the  nature 
of  the  ground,  and  aware  that  the  troops  of  La 
Tremouille  were  surrounded  by  marshy  land,  where 
their  cavalry  would  be  crippled  and  almost  useless, 
they  formed  their  own  force,  consisting  entirely  of 
foot  soldiers,  into  two  divisions,  one  of  which  was 
instructed  to  prevent  the  approach  of  the  mounted 
troops,  and  the  other  to  attack  the  French  artillery. 
As  daylight  dawned  they  had  taken  up  their  posi- 
tion, and  La  Tremouille,  unprepared  as  he  was  to 


96  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

anticipate  such  a  demonstration,  at  once  made  every 
arrangement  to  receive  them. 

He  soon  perceived  that  the  enemy,  whose  suc- 
cess had  depended  upon  their  celerity,  had  not 
brought  a  single  gun  into  the  field,  and  he  accord- 
ingly advanced  his  artillery,  consisting  of  two  and 
twenty  pieces,  to  the  front  of  his  line,  under  a 
guard  of  German  lancers.  His  first  fire  committed 
great  ravages  among  the  Swiss  ranks,  but  as  the 
foremost  men  fell  their  vacancies  were  instantly 
filled  up  from  the  rear,  and  they  dashed  forward 
gallantly  to  the  very  mouths  of  the  cannon,  and 
engaged  with  the  lansquenets  by  whom  they  were 
supported.  For  two  hours  the  battle  waged 
fiercely,  but  at  the  termination  of  that  period  the 
Germans,  bravely  as  they  had  borne  themselves, 
gave  way,  and  the  Swiss,  having  obtained  posses- 
sion of  the  guns,  turned  them  against  their  former 
owners,  and  committed  terrible  slaughter.  Mean- 
while the  cavalry  had  been  compelled  to  total  in- 
action, being  hemmed  in  on  one  side  by  a  dense 
wood  and  on  the  other  by  a  bog  deeply  trenched, 
in  which  the  horses  buried  themselves  to  their 
knees  at  every  plunge.  In  one  instance  only  did 
they  succeed  in  taking  any  share  in  the  fortunes  of 
the  day,  but  that  one  must  not  pass  unrecorded. 
Robert  de  la  Mark,i  who  commanded  the  lansque- 

1  Messire  Robert  de  la  Mark  was  a  soldier  of  distinction,  sur- 
named  the  "  Great  Boar  of  the  Ardennes,"  from  the  position  of  his 
estates,  and  his  constant  habit  of  laying  waste  all  the  territory  of 
the  emperor,  and  other  princes  in  the  vicinity.  He  was  the  original 
cause  of  the  war  between  Maximilian  and  Louis  XII.,  who  supported 


15 1 3  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  97 

nets,  and  who  was  accompanied  to  the  field  by  his 
two  sons,  the  Seigneur  de  Fleuranges  and  the 
Seigneur  de  Jamets,  having  lost  sight  of  them  in 
the  milde,  feeling  convinced  that  they  must  be 
either  slain  or  captive  thus  to  fail  him  at  such  a 
moment,  leaped  the  trenches  at  the  head  of  a  hun- 
dred of  his  own  troop,  and  charged  the  Swiss  so 
vigorously  that  he  broke  their  ranks,  reached  the 
spot  where  his  sons  had  been  engaged,  both  of 
whom  were  lying  on  the  ground  disabled  by  their 
hurts,  and  carried  them  off  in  safety,  having  him- 
self received  nearly  fifty  wounds. 

The  capture  of  the  cannon  had,  however,  decided 
the  issue  of  the  battle ;  and  La  Tremouille,  himself 
severely  wounded,  was  compelled  to  order  a  retreat, 
which  was  not  effected  without  great  sacrifice  of  life. 
The  gendarmes  suffered  little,  as  their  enemies  had 
no  mounted  force  with  which  to  pursue  them,  but 
the  infantry  were  slain  on  all  sides.  The  Gascons, 
who  were  the  first  to  fly,  were  allowed  to  escape 
almost  unimpeded ;  for  the  Swiss  concentrated  all 
their  fury  upon  the  lansquenets,  the  objects  of  their 
most  bitter  hatred,  whom  they  considered  as  their 
rivals  in  the  mercenary  trade  which  they  had  so  long 
exercised  alone.  Five  thousand  of  these  wretched 
men  perished  upon  the  field,  and  the  remainder 
were  compelled  to  surrender.     A  similar  number  of 

him  in  his  forays.  He  had  adopted  as  his  device  a  figure  of  St. 
Margaret,  with  a  dragon  at  her  feet,  representing  the  great  principle 
of  evil ;  and  was  in  the  habit,  when  he  made  his  orisons  to  this  his 
patron  saint,  of  burning  two  candles  before  her  shrine,  one  of  which 
was  dedicated  to  herself  and  the  other  to  the  dragon,  declaring  that 
"  if  God  would  not  aid  him  the  devil  would  not  fail  to  do  so." 

VOL.  I  7 


98  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

French  were  killed,  either  in  action  or  during  the 
retreat,  for  many  of  the  Gascons,  whom  the  Swiss 
had  spared,  were  murdered  by  the  peasantry.  The 
loss  of  the  victors  was  nearly  as  great,  and  their 
leader,  Mottino,  was  among  the  slain ;  but  their 
triumph  was  complete,  and  after  remaining  for  an 
hour  or  two  upon  the  scene  of  their  success  they 
returned  to  No  vara,  carrying  with  them  the  twenty- 
two  pieces  of  ordnance,  as  well  as  all  the  draught- 
horses  and  baggage  of  the  French  army. 

Once  more  the  troops  of  Louis  XII.  were  driven 
out  of  Italy.     All  the  places  which  they  had  taken 
opened  their  gates  to  the  conquerors  ;  and  public 
rejoicings  were  held  in  Rome,  where  the  Pope  con- 
gratulated the  Swiss  upon  their  victory ;  while  he 
flattered  himself  that  the  defeat  at  Novara  would 
so  undermine  the  energies  and  cripple  the  strength 
of  the  French  king  that  he  would  be  unable  to  con- 
tend against  any  new  enemy.     And,  in  truth,  the 
prospects  of   Louis  were   anything    but    encourag- 
ing.     Invaded    upon    every    one    of    his    frontiers, 
he  saw  himself  compelled  to  recall  the  remnant  of  his 
army  from  the  Riotta ;  he  could  place  no  faith  in 
Ferdinand,  and  he  anticipated  an  attack  from  the 
English    upon    Normandy  ;    while,    despite    all    his 
caution,  the  national  treasury  was  exhausted.     The 
campaign  in  Italy  had  been  at  once  disastrous  and 
expensive ;   Paris  had  been  heavily  taxed,   and  he 
had  no  resource  save  in  mortgaging  a  portion  of  his 
territory.      Meanwhile  Henry  VIII.  had  raised,  in 
the  month  of  May,  an  army  of  twenty-five  thousand 


15 1 3  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  99 

men,  under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of  Shrews- 
bury and  Lord  Talbot,  which  the  French  fleet  had 
found  it  impossible  to  prevent  landing ;  and  he 
himself  embarked  to  join  them  at  the  end  of  June, 
proceeding  immediately  from  Calais  to  the  frontier 
town  of  Terouenne,  before  which  he  sat  down  with 
his  troops.  The  city  was  well  fortified,  and  gar- 
risoned by  two  hundred  horse  and  two  thousand  foot, 
under  Frangois  de  Teligny,  Senechal  de  Rouergue, 
and  Antoine  de  Crequi,  Seigneur  de  Pondormy  ;  but 
it  was  ill-provisioned  for  a  siege,  and  its  position 
was  consequently  very  precarious. 

Louis  XIL,  during  his  period  of  suspense  as  to 
the  point  upon  which  he  should  be  attacked,  had 
resided  alternately  at  Paris  and  at  Blois ;  but  on 
learning  that  the  English  had  landed  in  great 
strength  at  Calais,  he  caused  himself,  although  sufler- 
ing  painfully  from  gout,  to  be  conveyed  to  Amiens 
in  a  litter,  in  order  to  be  nearer  to  Louis  de  Hall- 
win,  Seigneur  de  Piennes,  who  was  his  lieutenant- 
general  in  Picardy  ;  and  hastened  to  issue  a  stringent 
order  to  his  generals  not  to  hazard  an  engagement 
with  the  enemy,  which,  should  it  prove  disastrous 
in  its  result,  might  tend  to  involve  the  ruin  of  the 
kingdom.  Meanwhile  the  French  army  concen- 
trated itself  at  Blangy  near  Hesdin,  where  it  was 
successively  joined  by  M.  de  la  Palice,  Imbercourt/ 

1  Adrian  de  Brimeu,  Marquis  d'Imbercourt,  was  a  descendant  of 
the  celebrated  house  of  Brimeu,  from  which  the  Counts  of  Mdgen  in 
the  Low  Countries  derive  their  origin.  He  was  greatly  distinguished 
for  his  valour,  and  served  both  Louis  XIL  and  Francis  L  with  zeal 
and  loyalty. 


loo  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

Bayard,  Aymar  de  Prie,  Bonnivet,  Bonneval,  La 
Fayette,  Fontrailles,^  with  his  Albanian  light-horse, 
and  Fleuranges  with  his  lansquenets ;  while  they 
still  awaited  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  who  had  espoused 
the  cause  of  Louis  against  Henry  VI IL,  whom  he 
regarded  as  the  destroyer  of  his  brother,  a  Lan- 
casterian  and  an  usurper. 

The  English  king  left  Calais  on  the  ist  of  August 
with  nine  thousand  infantry  to  join  his  army  at 
T6rouenne,  and  was  encountered  by  all  the  French 
horse,  amounting  to  twelve  hundred  lances ;  when, 
as  he  had  no  cavalry  with  him,  the  two  armies  had 
no  sooner  approached  within  cannon  shot  than  he 
became  apprehensive  of  treachery,  and,  dismount- 
ing, placed  himself  in  the  centre  of  the  lansquenets. 
Bayard,  whose  gallant  and  impetuous  spirit  ill 
brooked  the  restraint  which  the  orders  of  Louis 
had  imposed  upon  the  French  troops,  eagerly  re- 
quested permission  to  attack  the  advancing  column, 
declaring  that,  if  the  line  were  once  forced,  the 
English  must  be  defeated ;  or,  at  the  worst,  as  they 
had  no  horsemen,  they  could  not  follow  up  any 
transient  advantage ;  and,  in  order  to  offer  a  proof 

1  The  Sire  Imbaud  de  Fontrailles,  the  representative  of  an 
ancient  Gascon  family,  was  the  Colonel-General  of  the  Albanian 
light-horse — a  force  at  that  period  unknown  in  the  French  army, 
which  was  always  supplied  by  foreigners  ;  the  gendarmes  being  the 
only  national  cavalry.  It  was  from  these  Albanian  troops  that  the 
French  learnt  and  adopted  the  duties  of  light-horsemen.  At  Fornoua 
these  troops  received  from  the  Venetians  the  name  of  Estradiotz, 
or  Corvals,  while  the  Spaniards  called  them  Genetaires.  M.  de 
Fontrailles  was  also  captain  of  a  company  of  fifty  men-at-arms,  and 
was  frequently  the  associate  of  Bayard  in  the  skirmishes  for  which 
he  was  so  famous. 


15 13  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  loi 

of  what  he  asserted,  he  broke  through  the  rear- 
guard of  the  enemy  with  his  own  troop  and  carried 
off  one  of  the  twelve  cannon  which  Henry  VIII. 
had  named  the  twelve  apostles.  The  Sire  de  Piennes, 
whose  heart  was  with  him,  but  who  was  too  good  a 
general  to  disobey  orders,  reminded  him  that  the 
king  his  master  had  strictly  forbidden  all  aggressive 
measures,  and,  therefore,  reluctantly  summoned  him 
to  desist ;  but  Bayard  did  not  relinquish  his  prize, 
which  was  safely  conveyed  to  the  French  camp. 

When,  on  the  2d  of  August,  Henry  joined  his 
army  before  Terouenne,  he  was  received  with  loud 
acclamations,  and  a  few  days  subsequently  he  was 
joined  by  the  Emperor  Maximilian,  with  some  thou- 
sands of  Hainaulters  and  Burgundians  ;  nor  had  a 
week  elapsed  ere  a  number  of  Flemish  and  other 
nobles  from  the  Low  Countries,  despite  the  neu- 
trality declared  by  Margaret,  flocked  to  his  banners 
as  volunteers. 

Meanwhile,  moreover,  the  garrison  of  the  be- 
sieged city  saw  themselves  threatened  by  famine ; 
their  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  Louis 
XII.,  aware  of  this  circumstance,  instructed  M.  de 
Piennes  that  Terouenne  must  be  victualled  at  any 
risk.  Surrounded  as  it  was  on  all  sides  by  the 
enemy,  this  enterprise  was,  however,  one  of  immense 
difficulty  and  certain  danger  ;  and,  after  mature  con- 
sideration, it  was  decided  that  the  Sire  de  Piennes 
and  the  Due  de  Longueville  should  march  a  body 
of  fourteen  hundred  horsemen  to  the  heights  of 
Guinegatte,  to  distract  the  attention  of  the  enemy ; 


I02  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

while  Fontrailles,  with  his  Albanian  light-horse  (or 
stradiots)  should  charge  the  English  troops  at  a 
particular  point,  and  fling  into  the  moat  of  the  city 
the  salted  provisions  and  powder  which  they  carried 
before  them.  The  attempt  was  skilfully  made  and 
vigorously  carried  out.  At  the  head  of  eight  hun- 
dred men  the  young  commander  charged  so  re- 
solutely that  he  broke  through  the  ranks  of  the 
besiegers,  and,  riding  directly  to  the  fosse,  each 
man  cast  down  the  bag  of  powder  and  the  pork 
which  he  bore  upon  his  horse,  and  then,  making 
face  upon  the  enemy,  succeeded  in  regaining  the 
main  body  with  a  gallantry  as  daring  as  it  was  suc- 
cessful. This  was,  however,  the  only  favourable 
moment  for  the  French  arms ;  and  even  this  had 
met  its  counterpoise  on  the  heights  of  Guinegatte, 
which  the  gendarmes  had  no  sooner  attained  than 
they  saw  in  their  rear  ten  thousand  English 
archers,  four  thousand  lansquenets,  and  eight  pieces 
of  artillery.  Maximilian  had  been  apprised  of  their 
intended  stratagem  by  his  spies,  numbers  of  whom 
were  employed  in  both  the  adverse  camps ;  while,  in 
many  instances,  there  were  double  traitors  among 
them,  who  alternately  served  or  betrayed  either,  as 
their  interest  prompted. 

The  French  soldiery,  who  were  aware  that  they 
had  not  been  ordered  to  that  point  to  come  to  an 
engagement  with  the  enemy,  retrograded  at  the 
command  of  their  leaders,  but  so  confusedly  that, 
from  a  trot,  they  soon  broke  into  a  gallop,  and 
threw    themselves   pell-mell  upon    a    rear-guard  of 


IS  1 3  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  103 

cavalry  headed  by  the  Due  de  Longueville  and  the 
Marquis  de  la  Palice,  which  they  scattered,  and,  pass- 
ing through  their  midst,  continued  to  fly  until  they 
reached  Blandy,  where  the  infantry  were  encamped, 
who  were  nearly  driven,  in  their  turn,  from  their 
position  by  the  impetuosity  of  this  unexpected 
charge.  An  attempt  was  made  by  a  few  of  their 
leaders  to  make  head,  with  a  handful  of  men,  against 
the  German  cavalry,  who  were  in  pursuit  of  the 
fugitives  ;  and  among  these  the  foremost  were  the 
Sire  de  la  Palice  and  the  Due  de  Longueville.  In 
vain,  however,  did  the  former  shout,  "  Turn,  men- 
at-arms,  turn;  this  is  nothing!"  The  alarm  had 
spread  through  the  whole  body  ;  the  terrified  troops 
passed  on,  regardless  of  his  cry ;  and,  although  he 
still  strove  to  cover  their  disorderly  retreat,  sup- 
ported by  some  of  the  most  gallant  spirits  of  the 
army,  his  self-devotion,  although  it  tended  to  save 
the  French  army,  was  unfortunate  for  himself  and 
his  friends,  as  they  were  nearly  all  taken  prisoners ; 
among  others,  Longueville,  La  Palice,  Bayard,  La 
Fayette,  Clermont  d'Anjou,  and  Bussy  d'Amboise. 

This  flight  from  Guinegatte,  which  took  place  on 
the  15th  April  15 13,  obtained  for  the  encounter  the 
name  of  the  Battle  of  the  Spurs,  these  having  been 
the  only  efficient  weapons  made  use  of  by  the  hostile 
armies.  Very  few  lives  were  sacrificed  on  either 
side ;  but  of  the  principal  prisoners  M.  de  la  Palice 
alone  succeeded  in  effecting  his  retreat,  while  Bay- 
ard won  his  ransom  in  so  gallant  a  manner  that  we 
must,  to  do  it  ample  justice,  give  the  episode  in  the 


104  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

words  of  his  biographer  : — "  The  good  knight  with- 
out fear  and  without  reproach  retired  very  sorrow- 
fully, and  ever  and  anon  turned  upon  his  enemies 
with  fourteen  or  fifteen  gendarmes  who  had  stood 
by  him.  In  retreating  he  came  to  a  little  bridge, 
whereon  no  more  than  two  men  could  pass  abreast  ; 
and  there  was  a  great  ditch  full  of  water  which  came 
from  a  distance  of  more  than  half  a  league,  and 
turned  a  mill  three  furlongs  farther  on.  When  he 
was  upon  the  bridge  he  said  to  those  that  were  with 
him — *  Gentlemen,  Let  us  stop  here,  for  the  enemy 
will  not  gain  this  bridge  from  us  in  the  space  of  an 
hour.'  Then  he  called  one  of  his  archers  and  said 
to  him — '  Hie  you  to  our  camp,  and  tell  my  Lord  de 
la  Palice  that  I  have  stopped  the  enemy  short  for  at 
least  half  an  hour ;  that  during  that  interval  he  must 
make  the  forces  draw  up  in  order  of  battle,  and  let 
them  not  be  alarmed,  but  march  hither  slowly ;  for, 
should  the  adversaries  advance  to  the  camp  and  find 
them  in  this  confusion,  they  would  infallibly  be  de- 
feated.' 

"  The  archer  goes  straight  to  the  camp  and  leaves 
the  good  knight  with  the  inconsiderable  number  of 
men  by  whom  he  was  accompanied  guarding  that 
little  bridge,  where  he  did  all  that  prowess  could 
achieve.  The  Burgundians  and  Hainaulters  arrived, 
but  were  obliged  to  fight  on  the  hither  side  of  the 
bridge,  as  they  could  not  very  easily  effect  a  passage. 
This  gave  the  French,  who  had  returned  to  their 
camp,  leisure  to  place  themselves  in  order,  and  in  a 
posture  of  defence,  in  the  event  of  its  proving  neces- 


15 13  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  105 

sary.  When  the  Burgundians  found  themselves 
withstood  by  such  a  handful  of  men,  they  cried  out 
that  archers  should  be  sent  for  with  all  speed,  and 
some  went  to  hasten  them.  Meanwhile  about  two 
hundred  cavaliers  followed  the  course  of  the  stream 
until  they  discovered  the  mill,  by  which  they  crossed. 
The  good  knight,  thus  enclosed  on  both  sides,  then 
said  to  his  people — '  Sirs,  let  us  surrender  to  these 
gentlemen,  for  all  the  daring  we  might  display  would 
avail  us  nothing.  Our  horses  are  weary,  our  adver- 
saries are  ten  to  one  against  us,  and  our  forces  full 
three  leagues  off;  so  that,  if  we  tarry  but  a  short 
while  longer,  and  the  English  archers  come  up,  they 
will  cut  us  to  pieces.'  At  these  words  the  aforesaid 
Burgundians  and  Hainaulters  arrived,  shouting 
'Burgundy!  Burgundy!'  and  made  a  mighty  onset 
upon  the  French,  who,  having  no  further  means  of 
resistance,  surrendered,  one  here,  another  there,  to 
those  of  most  seeming  consideration.  While  each 
was  endeavouring  to  take  his  prisoner,  the  good 
knight  espied,  under  some  dwarf  trees,  a  gentleman 
in  goodly  attire,  who,  by  reason  of  the  excessive 
heat  he  was  in,  whereby  he  was  completely  over- 
come, had  taken  off  his  helmet,  and  was  so  turmoiled 
and  weary  that  he  cared  not  to  be  at  the  trouble  of 
taking  prisoners.  He  spurred  straight  up  to  this 
person,  grasping  his  sword,  which  he  pointed  at  the 
other's  throat,  and  exclaimed,  '  Surrender,  cavalier, 
or  you  die.'  Terribly  dismayed  was  this  gentleman, 
for  he  thought  that  his  whole  company  were  made 
prisoners,  and  being  in  fear  of  his  life  he  said,  '  I 


io6  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  iv 

give  myself  up,  then,  since  I  am  taken  in  this  man- 
ner; but  who  are  you?'  'I  am  Captain  Bayard,' 
replied  the  good  knight,  '  who  surrender  to  you. 
Here  is  my  sword ;  I  pray  you  be  pleased  to  carry 
me  away  with  you.  But  do  me  this  kindness  : 
should  we  meet  with  any  English  on  the  road  who 
may  offer  to  take  our  lives,  let  me  have  it  back 
again.'  This  the  gentleman  promised  and  fulfilled, 
for,  as  they  drew  towards  the  camp,  they  were  both 
obliged  to  use  their  weapons  against  certain  English 
who  sought  to  slay  the  prisoners,  whereby  they 
gained  nothing. 

"  Then  was  the  good  knight  conducted  to  the 
camp  of  the  King  of  England,  and  into  the  tent  of 
the  gentleman  by  whom  he  had  been  captured,  who 
entertained  him  very  well  for  three  or  four  days. 
On  the  fifth  the  good  knight  said  to  him,  '  My 
worthy  sir,  I  should  be  right  glad  if  you  would 
have  me  conveyed  in  safety  to  the  king,  my  master's 
camp,  for  I  am  already  weary  of  being  here.'  '  How 
say  you  ?'  asked  the  other  ;  '  we  have  not  yet  treated 
of  your  ransom.'  'My  ransom?'  said  the  good 
knight ;  'your  own,  you  mean,  for  you  are  my 
prisoner ;  and  if,  after  you  gave  me  your  word,  I 
surrendered  to  you,  it  was  to  save  my  life,  and  for 
no  other  reason.'  Great  was  the  amazement  of  the 
gentleman,  especially  when  the  good  knight  added : 
*  Sir,  if  you  do  not  keep  your  word,  I  am  confident 
that  I  shall  make  my  escape  by  some  means  or 
other ;  but  be  assured  that  I  shall  insist  upon  doing 
battle  with  you  afterward.'     The  gentleman  knew 


1 5 13  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  107 

not  what  reply  to  make,  for  he  had  heard  a  great 
deal  about  Captain  Bayard,  and  by  no  means 
relished  the  idea  of  fighting  with  him.  However, 
being  a  very  courteous  knight,  he  at  length  said : 
'  My  Lord  of  Bayard,  I  am  desirous  of  dealing 
fairly  with  you ;  I  will  refer  the  matter  to  the  cap- 
tains.' " 

The  brave  but  disconcerted  captor  scrupulously 
kept  his  word  ;  and  as  the  arrival  of  Bayard  in  the 
hostile  camp  soon  got  bruited  abroad,  Maximilian 
caused  him  to  be  summoned  to  his  tent,  and,  as  he 
entered,  exclaimed  gaily  :  "  Captain  Bayard,  I  am 
delighted  to  see  you.  Would  to  God  that  I  had 
many  men  like  yourself,  for,  if  I  had,  I  should  not 
be  long  ere  I  requited  the  king  your  master  for  the 
good  offices  which  he  did  me  in  times  past.  I 
believe  that  we  formerly  fought  together,  and  I 
think  it  was  then  said  that  Bayard  never  fled." 

"  If  I  had  done  so  upon  this  occasion.  Sire,"  was 
the  proud  reply,  "  I  should  not  now  have  been  here." 

At  this  moment  Henry  VHI.  entered  the  tent, 
to  whom  the  emperor  presented  the  good  knight, 
who  received  their  courtesies  with  respect  and 
modesty,  after  which  the  peculiarity  of  his  position 
was  discussed,  and  it  was  decided  that  he  should  be 
restored  to  liberty  unransomed  on  condition  that  he 
should  not  bear  arms  for  six  weeks,  during  which 
time  he  should  remain  on  parole,  but  free  to  reside 
in  such  Flemish  cities  as  he  should  desire  to  visit. 
Bayard  bent  the  knee  in  acknowledgment  of  this 
concession,  and  a  few  days  subsequently  took  leave 


io8  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I       chap,  iv 

of  the  allied  sovereigns  and  proceeded  to  Flanders, 
where  he  amused  himself  by  giving  fetes,  and 
endearing  himself  to  the  people  by  the  chivalry 
and  courtesy  of  his  deportment.  In  such  pursuits 
the  period  of  his  probation  rapidly  wore  away,  and 
he  once  more  girt  on  his  armour  and  joined  his 
standard. 

Meanwhile  Louis  had  profited  by  the  supineness 
of  his  enemies,  who,  instead  of  pursuing  their  ad- 
vantage after  the  victory  of  Terouenne,  had  allowed 
the  favourable  moment  to  escape  them,  and  withdrew 
his  army  from  Blangy  into  Picardy,  while  Henry 
and  Maximilian  returned  each  to  his  own  territories. 


CHAPTER  V 

1513-14 

Divisions  among  the  French  generals — Francis  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  new  army — Terouenne  capitulates,  and  is  destroyed  by  Henry  VIII. 
— Burgundy  revolts — The  Swiss  determine  to  invade  France — They  are 
worsted  at  Dijon,  and  enter  into  a  treaty  with  the  French  general — The 
treaty  is  disavowed  by  Louis — Dismal  prospects  of  France — Henry  VIII. 
enters  Toumay,  and  returns  to  England — A  twelvemonths'  truce  signed 
by  the  European  sovereigns — Death  of  Anne  de  Bretagne — Grief  of  the 
king — Marriage  of  the  Princesse  Claude  and  Francis — The  Court  mourn- 
ing— Louis  urged  to  take  a  third  wife — The  Due  de  Longueville  nego- 
tiates for  the  hand  of  the  Princess  Mary  of  England — Misunderstanding 
between  the  two  monarchs — The  treaty  is  renewed — Betrothal  of  the 
contracting  parties — Mary  and  Brandon,  Duke  of  Suffolk — Arrival  of  the 
young  queen  in  France — Anne  Boleyn — The  royal  marriage — Court 
festivities — Mary  becomes  enamoured  of  Francis — Position  of  the  Prin- 
cesse Claude — A  courtier's  caution — Accusation  of  Brantome — Illness  of 
Louis  XII. — His  last  interview  with  Francis — Death  of  Louis  XII. 

Unhappily  it  was  not  alone  against  foreign  ani- 
mosity that  Louis  XII.  had,  at  this  period,  to 
contend.  Constant  misunderstandings,  which  were 
even  said  to  have  influenced  the  late  defeat,  had 
taken  place  between  the  Due  de  Longueville  and 
M.  de  Piennes ;  and  the  king  became  so  seriously 
alarmed  for  their  consequences,  upon  finding  that 
the  troops  were  split  into  factions,  each  siding  with 
their  favourite  commander,  that  he  determined  to 
confide  to  the  young  Due  de  Valois  the  conduct  of 
the  forthcoming  campaign ;  his  prowess  at  Navara 
having  given  him  confidence  alike  in  his  personal 


no  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

courage  and  his  judgment,   only  insisting   upon   a 
continuance  of  the  same  system  of  defensive  opera- 
tions of  which  he  had  already  ascertained  the  policy. 
Francis  eagerly  embraced  this  new  opportunity 
of  distinguishing  himself,  and,  notwithstanding  his 
youth,  carried  out  the  wishes  of  his  royal  uncle  with 
great  forbearance.     He  marched  the  army  back  to 
Encre  on  the  Somme,  where  he  could  effectually 
resist  any  attack,  while  he  protected  the  frontier  ; 
and  the  enemy  soon  convinced  him  of  the  prudence 
of  this  first  measure  by  capitulating  with  the  de- 
fenders of  Terouenne  upon  more  favourable  terms 
than  had  previously  been  anticipated ;  after  which 
Henry  VHL,  acting  upon  the  selfish  suggestion  of 
Maximilian,   who    had    on    former    occasions   been 
frequently  kept  in  check  by  that  fortress,   utterly 
demolished  the  fortifications  for  whose  possession 
he  had  exhausted  a  large  amount  both  of  human 
life  and  treasure,  and  then  proceeded  to  lay  siege 
to  Tournay. 

The  French  monarch  had,  however,  another 
enemy  to  contend  against.  The  peace  of  Bur- 
gundy, which  province  the  emperor  had  never 
ceased  to  reclaim  as  the  inheritance  of  Marie  de 
Bourgogne,  his  first  wife,  and  the  mother  of  his 
children,  was  threatened  with  a  new  invasion  ; .  and 
although  the  bulk  of  the  population  were  decidedly 
favourable  to  the  rule  of  Louis,  the  nobility,  from 
old  association,  pecuniary  interest,  or  national  vanity, 
leant  generally  to  their  ancient  independence  and 
the  sway  of  their  hereditary  dukes  ;  while,  aware  of 


15 13-14  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  iii 

this  fact,  the  Swiss,  whose  dislike  to  the  French 
monarch  had  never  abated,  and  who  were  flushed, 
even  to  arrogance,  by  their  recent  success  at 
No  vara,  resolved  to  carry  .the  war  into  Burgundy, 
Some  trifling  insurrections  had  broken  out  in 
Switzerland,  and  the  magistrates  had  affected  to 
believe  that  they  were  instigated  by  French  agents, 
although  they  might  have  been  readily  traced  to  the 
immense  booty  gained  by  the  troops  in  the  late 
struggle,  whence  resulted  every  description  of  licen- 
tiousness and  disorder,  naturally  ending  in  insub- 
ordination and  misrule.  The  Helvetic  diet,  whose 
tranquillity  was  disturbed  by  these  outbreaks,  was 
not  slow  in  discovering  an  escape-valve  for  the 
heated  and  restless  spirits  who  thus  opposed  its 
authority,  and  consequently  determined  at  once  to 
release  itself  by  organizing  a  distant  expedition,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  recruit  its  treasury  by  the  pillage 
of  France.  A  force  of  eighteen  thousand  Swiss  was 
accordingly  collected  in  the  different  cantons,  which 
were  reviewed  on  the  9th  of  August  at  Zurich,  and 
marched  on  the  following  day,  under  the  command 
of  Jacques  de  Watte ville,  an  advocate  of  Berne, 
supported  by  a  council  formed  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
several  divisions.  They  traversed  Franche-Comt6 
as  far  as  Gray,  where  they  were  met,  on  the  2  7th  of 
the  month,  by  the  Duke  Ulrich  of  Wirtemburg, 
who  was  awaiting  their  arrival  at  the  head  of  the 
German  and  Comtois  cavalry,  and  thence  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Dijon,  which  they  reached  on  the  7th  of 
September. 


112  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

The  city  was  ill  calculated  for  resistance,  and 
M.  de  la  Tremouille  had,  with  very  indifferent  suc- 
cess, endeavoured  to  put  it  into  such  a  state  of 
defence  as  might  enable  him  at  least  to  guard 
against  any  surprise.  He  therefore  resolved  to 
temporize,  and,  if  possible,  to  conciliate  an  enemy 
against  which  he  was  totally  unable,  with  his  in- 
adequate force,  to  contend.  By  a  lucky  chance 
he  made  prisoners  of  several  Swiss  officers  in  a 
sally  which  he  made  on  one  occasion,  and  he 
availed  himself  of  this  circumstance  to  impress  upon 
them  the  policy  of  renewing  the  old  attachment 
which  had  formerly  subsisted  between  the  two 
countries,  expatiating  on  the  value  which  his  own 
monarch  attached  to  their  alliance,  and  his  earnest 
wish  to  renew  the  good  understanding  which  had 
been  lately  broken.  As  some  among  them  evinced 
no  reluctance  while  listening  to  these  arguments,  he 
concluded  by  lauding  their  late  bravery,  distributing 
a  few  presents,  which  were  well  received,  and  finally 
restoring  them  to  liberty  without  exacting  any 
species  of  ransom,  a  courtesy  to  which  they  were 
by  no  means  insensible,  and  the  good  effect  of 
which  became  soon  apparent  by  the  arrival  at  Dijon 
of  a  safe-conduct,  and  an  invitation  for  him  to  pay  a 
visit  to  their  chiefs.  He  at  once  accepted  this  over- 
ture, and  was  so  successful  during  the  interview  as  to 
induce  his  late  adversaries  to  conclude  a  negotiation 
which  was  not  a  mere  capitulation  for  the  beleaguered 
city,  or  a  momentary  truce,  but  a  definitive  treaty, 
involving   not    only    the    interests   of   France    and 


15 13-14  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  113 

Switzerland,  but  also  those  of  all  Europe.  By  this 
treaty  it  was  arranged  that  he  should  pay  over  upon 
the  instant  the  sum  of  four  hundred  thousand  crowns 
(part  of  which  was  immediately  raised  among  the 
officers  of  his  little  army,  and  deposited  in  the 
hands  of  the  council) ;  pledge  himself  to  the  liquida- 
tion of  all  arrears  of  pension  due  to  the  Swiss  from 
France  for  former  services  performed — to  the  resti- 
tution of  all  cities,  strongholds,  or  territory  held  by 
Louis  XII.  which  were  appurtenances  to  the  Holy 
See — to  the  speedy  evacuation  of  the  castles  of 
Milan,  Cremona,  and  Asti ;  and  also  guarantee  that 
the  French  king  should  renounce  all  future  preten- 
sions, both  for  himself  and  his  successors,  to  the 
duchy  of  Milan  and  the  lordships  of  Cremona  and 
Asti ;  and  that  none  of  the  individuals  who  had 
joined  the  Swiss  in  their  expedition  to  Burgundy 
should  suffer  any  damage  in  such  properties  as  they 
might  possess  within  the  kingdom  of  France. 

On  these  conditions  peace  and  amity  were  to  be 
sworn  between  Louis  XII.,  the  Swiss  League, 
Franche-Comte,  the  Duke  of  Wurtemberg,  and  the 
Sire  de  Vergy.  The  Pope  was  to  be  at  liberty  to  ac- 
cede to  this  treaty,  should  he  see  fit  to  do  so,  as  were 
also  the  emperor  and  the  holy  Roman  empire ;  and, 
finally,  M.  de  la  Tremouille  pledged  himself  that  the 
confederates  should,  on  their  return  to  their  own 
country,  receive  the  sum  of  four  hundred  thousand 
crowns,  payable  at  Zurich,  one  moiety  within  a  fort- 
night after  their  arrival,  and  the  remainder  at  the 
ensuing  festival  of  Saint   Martin.      As   the   whole 

VOL.  I  8 


114  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

amount  of  forfeit  money  claimed  could  not  be  collected 
upon  the  spot,  they  consented  to  receive  twenty  thou- 
sand crowns  on  account ;  but,  as  surety  for  the  re- 
mainder, they  carried  away  with  them,  in  the  character 
of  hostages,  the  Baron  de  Mezieres,  the  nephew  of 
M.  de  la  Tremouille ;  Rochefort,  the  Seneschal  of 
Dijon,  and  four  citizens.  The  former  having  been, 
however,  forewarned  by  his  relative  that  the  treaty 
would  not,  in  all  probability,  be  ratified,  took  the 
first  opportunity  of  effecting  his  escape. 

Louis  XII.  either  felt  or  affected  the  greatest 
indignation  at  the  concessions  made  by  his  general, 
and  refused  to  fulfil  conditions  which  he  declared  to 
be  degrading  and  unfavourable  to  himself  He 
even  addressed  an  autograph  letter  to  M.  de  la 
Tremouille,  in  which  he  asserted  that  he  considered 
such  a  treaty  as  that  to  which  he  had  given  his 
assent  to  be  marvellously  strange, — a  truth  which 
was  admitted  in  the  reply :  "  But,  by  my  faith. 
Sire,"  added  the  straightforward  soldier,  "  I  was 
constrained  to  give  it  by  the  wretched  provision 
which  had  been  made  for  the  preservation  of  your 
kingdom." 

The  displeasure  of  the  king  was  of  short  dura- 
tion ;  and  although  he  still  adhered  to  his  resolution 
of  resisting  the  conditions  of  the  treaty,  he  never- 
theless endeavoured  to  conciliate  the  Swiss,  and 
empowered  M.  de  la  Tremouille  to  raise  a  loan  of 
fifty  thousand  crowns  in  Burgundy,  to  satisfy  the 
most  importunate  of  their  demands.  He  even  con- 
descended to  dissimulate,  and  sought  to  gain  time. 


1513-14  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  115 

but  he  could  not  deceive  the  Swiss,  who,  already 
prejudiced  against  him,  felt  that  they  were  over- 
reached, and  vowed  a  vengeance  which  they  fear- 
fully executed  during  the  succeeding  reign. 

Fortune  had  declared  itself  adverse  to  Louis ; 
nor  were  his  allies  exempted  from  their  own  share 
of  disaster.  The  Venetians  were  signally  defeated 
by  the  Spaniards,  and  the  unhappy  James  IV.  of 
Scotland  lost  his  life  at  Flodden  Field.  The 
French  king  had,  however,  no  time  to  indulge 
regret  for  the  reverses  of  others.  On  the  15th  of 
September  Maximilian  and  Henry  had,  as  we  have 
already  stated,  sat  down  before  Tournay,  which, 
situated  within  the  boundary  of  the  Low  Countries, 
had  enjoyed  a  government  almost  republican  under 
the  protection  of  France,  and  considered  as  one  of 
its  most  precious  privileges  its  exemption  from  the 
necessity  of  admitting  a  garrison  within  its  walls. 
Consequently,  when,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
campaign,  Louis  had  offered  to  send  them  troops  for 
their  defence,  they  arrogantly  replied  that  "  Tour- 
nay  had  never  yet  turned,  and  would  not  turn  now  " 
—  a  vaunt  which  left  them  in  the  power  of  their 
enemies,  who  treated  with  contempt  the  undis- 
ciplined citizens  by  whom  they  were  opposed,  and 
in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  stormed  their  walls 
and  compelled  them  to  a  capitulation,  wherein,  how- 
ever, Henry  VHL  guaranteed  to  them  the  con- 
tinuance of  their  privileges. 

After  having  made  his  entrance  into  the  city  with 
a  puerile  ostentation  totally  disproportioned  to  the 


Il6  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

circumstances,  and  which  tended  to  excite  the 
ridicule  of  all  by  whom  it  was  witnessed,  Henry, 
satisfied  with  the  result  of  a  campaign  which,  had 
it  been  efficiently  conducted,  must  have  tended  to 
enhance  both  his  own  honour  and  the  interests  of 
his  kingdom,  returned  at  once  to  England,  and  thus 
relieved  the  French  king  from  an  enemy  who  might 
at  any  moment  have  become  formidable. 

On  the  13th  of  March  15 14  a  treaty  was  signed 
at  Orleans  by  the  several  sovereigns  who  had  been 
engaged  in  the  wars  of  Italy,  by  which  a  truce  of 
twelve  months  was  determined  on  ;  while  the  Swiss, 
who  were  not  included  in  the  negotiation,  laid  down 
their  arms  in  accordance  with  that  of  Dijon.  Louis 
XII.  had  acceded  to  all  the  demands  of  the  Pope, 
and  no  longer  possessed  any  portion  of  the  papal 
states,  a  circumstance  which  afforded  great  relief  to 
the  mind  of  Anne  de  Bretagne,  but  which  was  never- 
theless so  far  from  conducing,  as  she  had  antici- 
pated, to  the  restoration  of  her  shattered  health, 
that,  although  she  eagerly  watched  the  progress  of 
events  which  were  rapidly  working  out  this  result, 
she  was  not  destined  to  witness  it ;  for,  at  the  close 
of  the  previous  campaign,  when  her  royal  husband, 
after  having  distributed  his  forces  in  the  fortified 
places  of  Picardy,  returned  to  Blois  for  the  winter, 
he  found  her  sinking  under  the  disease  to  which  she 
had  long  been  a  victim,  and  which  finally  terminated 
her  life  on  the  9th  of  January. 

The  grief  of  the  king  was  unbounded  when  he 
became  convinced    that    she    had   really  ceased  to 


ISI3-I4  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  I17 

exist,  and  when,  on  the  following  Friday,  her  body 
had  been  conveyed  with  great  magnificence  to  St. 
Denis,  and  there  pompously  interred,  he  immedi- 
ately retired  to  the  Bois  de  Vincennes,  where, 
during  eight  days,  he  shut  himself  into  his  private 
apartments,  forbidding  all  access  to  his  person,  in 
order  that  he  might  give  free  course  to  his  grief. 
He  not  only  assumed  a  sable  habit  himself,  in  con- 
formity with  the  taste  of  his  lost  wife,  but  he  com- 
pelled his  whole  Court  to  do  the  same ;  nor  would 
he,  when  he  again  appeared  in  public,  receive  any 
foreign  ambassador  who  was  not  similarly  attired. 
Nevertheless,  he  did  not  fail  in  the  pledge  which 
he  had  given  to  the  States-General  at  Tours,  and 
on  the  loth  of  May  the  Princesse  Claude  was 
publicly  married,  at  St.  Germain- en -Laye,  to  her 
cousin  the  Due  de  Valois.  But  even  upon  this 
occasion  the  king  would  not  permit  that  the 
mourning  garments  of  his  Court  should  be  laid 
aside ;  and  accordingly  an  old  chronicler  quoted 
by  Brantome  declares  that  ''when  he  gave  his 
daughter  to  M.  d'Angouleme,  afterwards  King 
Francis,  the  mourning  was  not  remitted  by  his 
Court ;  and  on  the  day  of  the  espousals  in  the 
chapel  of  St.  Germain -en -Laye  the  bridegroom 
and  the  bride  were  simply  attired  in  black  cloth, 
handsomely,  and  in  funereal  fashion,  for  the 
death  of  the  before-mentioned  queen,  Madame 
Anne  de  Bretagne,  in  the  presence  of  the  king 
her  father,  accompanied  by  all  the  princes  of  the 
blood,    and    noble   lords,    and    prelates,    and    prin- 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


cesses,  and  ladies,  each  dressed  in  a  mourning  robe 
of  black." 

How  evil  an  omen  was  this  for  the  gentle- 
hearted  Princesse  Claude ! 

The  marriage  was  no  sooner  accomplished  than 
Louis  XII.  invested  his  son-in-law  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  duchy  of  Brittany — somewhat, 
as  the  Breton  historians  declare,  contrary  to  his 
wishes ;  but  although  Madame  Claude  de  France, 
who  was  its  heiress,  had  espoused  the  presumptive 
heir  to  the  crown,  the  contract  by  which  they  were 
united  contained  no  clause  which  assured  to  her 
husband  the  actual  possession  of  the  coveted  duchy; 
while  this  circumstance  was  rendered  still  more 
unpalatable  to  the  young  prince  by  the  fact  that, 
about  the  same  period,  Louis  was  himself  induced 
by  his  counsellors  to  entertain  the  project  of  a  third 
marriage,  than  which  no  step  could  have  been  more 
inimical  to  the  prospects  of  Francis,  while  the  selec- 
tion ultimately  made  by  the  king  and  his  advisers 
was  probably  as  little  calculated  to  ensure  his  own 
happiness,  had  the  union  been  fated  to  be  of  long 
duration. 

Still  newly  widowed,  and  deeply  attached  to  the 
memory  of  Anne  de  Bretagne,  for  whose  sake  he 
had  repudiated  his  first  wife,  state  policy  on  the  one 
hand,  and  on  the  other  his  anxiety  to  become  the 
father  of  a  son  to  whom  he  might  bequeath  his 
crown,  induced  the  French  king  to  lend  a  willing 
ear  to  the  suggestions  of  those  about  him,  and 
although  in  his  fifty-third  year,  when  his  constitu- 


1513-14  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  119 

tion  had  become  seriously  undermined  by  severe 
and  constant  attacks  of  gout,  to  give  a  new  queen 
to  France.  The  Austrian  party  formed  by  Anne 
de  Bretagne,  fearing  the  future  influence  of  Louise 
de  Savoie  when  her  son  should  attain  the  throne, 
having  been  unable  to  prevent  the  marriage  of 
Francis  with  the  Princesse  Claude,  assailed  the 
king  with  perpetual  expostulations,  and  proposed 
to  him,  in  the  first  place,  the  hand  of  Margaret 
of  Austria,  Gouvernante  of  the  Low  Countries  ;  but 
although  this  princess,  owing  to  her  betrothal  to 
the  dauphin,  had  been  educated  at  the  Court  of 
France,  and  had,  at  that  period,  interested  the 
affections  of  Louis,  then  Due  d'Orleans,  she  had 
now  attained  her  thirty-fourth  year,  and  was  the 
childless  widow  of  two  husbands, — a  sterility  which 
he  declared  to  be  an  insuperable  objection  to  their 
alliance.  Ferdinand  of  Spain  then  offered  to  him 
Eleanora  of  Austria,^  the  niece  of  Margaret,  and 
sister  of  the  Archduke  Charles,  at  that  time  in  the 
very  bloom  of  youth.  To  this  union  Louis  ad- 
vanced no  objection,  the  rather  as  it  was  to  form 
the  pledge  of  a  reconciliation  between  himself, 
Maximilian,  and  Ferdinand ;  nor  did  the  three 
monarchs  lose  any  time  in  deciding  on  the  outline 

1  Eleanora  of  Austria  was  the  daughter  of  PhiHp  I.  of  Spain,  and 
the  sister  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  Born  at  Louvain  in  1498, 
she  married,  in  i  5 1 9,  Emmanuel,  King  of  Portugal ;  and  after  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1530,  she  became  Queen  of  France  by 
her  second  marriage  with  Francis  I.  This  union  was  extremely 
unhappy,  owing  to  the  passion  of  the  monarch  for  the  beautiful 
Duchesse  d'Etampes.  When  once  more  left  a  widow  in  1547  she 
withdrew  to  Spain,  and  died  in  1558  without  issue. 


I20  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

of  a  treaty  to  be  executed  at  the  expense  of  their 
ancient  allies,  the  English,  the  Venetians,  and  the 
Swiss. 

This  project  was,  however,  rendered  abortive 
by  the  suspicions  of  Henry  VIII.,  which  suggested 
some  occult  and  important  reason  for  the  delay  of 
Maximilian  in  concluding  the  nuptials  of  the  Arch- 
duke Charles  with  the  Princess  Mary  of  England, 
his  own  sister.  Nor  was  it  long  ere  they  were 
confirmed  through  the  agency  of  the  Due  de 
Longueville,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  at  the 
"  Battle  of  the  Spurs,"  and  whom  the  pleasure-loving 
king  had  admitted  to  his  intimacy,  and  favoured  so 
greatly  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  playing  tennis 
with  him,  and  permitting  him  to  win  until  he  had 
gained  the  sum  appointed  for  his  ransom,  which 
amounted  to  fifty  thousand  crowns. 

The  resentment  of  the  English  monarch  upon 
finding  himself  duped  both  by  Maximilian  and 
Ferdinand  encouraged  the  duke,  during  their  fre- 
quent conversations,  to  introduce  upon  every  favour- 
able occasion  some  well-timed  allusion  to  the  injury 
sustained  by  both  France  and  England  from  the 
continuation  of  a  war  which  exhausted  the  resources 
of  both  without  benefit  to  either,  and  to  propose 
a  peace  which  he  was  aware  would  be  highly  wel- 
come to  his  own  sovereign.  As  Henry  listened 
without  any  manifestation  of  displeasure  to  these 
frequent  hints,  De  Longueville  became  in  time 
still  more  explicit.  He  at  length  insinuated  that 
the  death  of  Anne  de   Bretagne  had  opened  up  a 


1513-14  FRANCIS  THE  FIRST  121 

medium  of  union  between  the  two  nations  which 
might  tend  to  their  mutual  advantage ;  declaring,  at 
the  same  time,  that  although  the  marriage  of  a 
princess  of  sixteen  with  a  sovereign  of  fifty-three 
might  appear  in  some  respects  unsuitable,  yet  that 
this  inequality  in  years  would  find  its  compensation 
in  many  circumstances  too  obvious  to  be  over- 
looked, and  of  which  he  would  consequently  adduce 
but  one,  namely,  that  Henry  would,  by  acceding 
to  an  alliance  between  his  sister  and  the  French 
king,  withdraw  himself  from  the  perfidious  Fer- 
dinand, upon  whose  faith  he  could  no  longer  rely, 
and  connect  himself  and  his  interests  for  life  with 
those  of  a  prince  whose  probity  and  honour  were 
above  suspicion. 

The  English  monarch  listened,  and  was  con- 
vinced. Broken  faith  and  a  harassing  war  on  the 
one  side,  and  a  firm  ally  and  speedy  peace  on  the 
other,  left  little  opportunity  for  hesitation  ;  and 
accordingly,  about  two  months  subsequent  to  the 
death  of  Anne  de  Bretagne,  Louis  XII.,  who  readily 
welcomed  the  prospect  of  a  union  which  would 
convert  a  formidable  enemy  into  a  fast  friend,  de- 
puted De  Longueville,  whose  ransom  had  been 
paid  in  English  crowns,  and  whose  liberty  had  been 
thus  easily  acquired,  to  ask  for  him  the  hand  of  the 
young  and  beautiful  Princess  Mary,  the  affianced 
but  unclaimed  bride  of  Charles  of  Austria. 

The  articles  were  concluded,  after  some  diffi- 
culties, originating  in  the  desire  of  Louis  to  hasten 
the   decision  of  his   brother-monarch   by  a   hostile 


122  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

demonstration,  on  the  pretext  that  Henry  had  not 
yet  ratified  the  treaty  of  Orleans,  which  he  effected 
by  marching  eight  thousand  men  and  a  brigade 
of  artillery  against  the  castle  of  Guines,  near  Calais  ; 
a  want  of  tact  of  which  he  was  immediately  made 
conscious  by  the  indignant  retort  of  the  English 
sovereign,  who  at  once  resented  the  practical  threat 
by  declaring  that  he  had  an  army  of  twenty  thou- 
sand men  ready  to  cross  the  Channel  in  defence  of 
his  stronghold,  if  need  be. 

This  mutual  defiance  necessarily  caused  a  tem- 
porary suspension  of  the  negotiations  of  marriage; 
but  the  Due  de  Longueville,  unwilling  to  see  all 
his  exertions  rendered  nugatory,  addressed  himself 
at  this  delicate  juncture  to  Wolsey,  then  Bishop 
of  Lincoln,  and,  authorized  by  his  royal  master, 
made  such  proposals  to  the  English  minister  as 
induced  him  to  espouse  his  cause.  The  anger  of 
Henry  gave  way  before  the  flattering  overtures  of 
the  French  plenipotentiary,  and  it  was  ultimately 
agreed  that  the  marriage  should  take  place,  upon 
condition  that  Tournay  should  remain  in  the  hands 
of  the  English  ;  that  Richard  de  la  Pole,^  then  an 
exile  in  France,  and  who  affected  to  revive  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  house  of  York,  should  be  banished 
to  Metz,  and  remain  a  pensioner  of  the  French 
king ;  that  Henry  should  receive  the  payment  of 
a  million  of  crowns,  being  the  arrears  due  by  treaty 
to  his  father  and  himself;  and  that  the  royal  bride 

^  Richard  de  la  Pole  was  the  fourth  son  of  Elizabeth,  sister  of 
Edward  IV. 


1513-14  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  123 

should  be  portioned  with  four  hundred  thousand 
crowns,  and  enjoy  as  large  a  jointure  as  any  pre- 
vious queen  of  France,  not  even  excepting  her 
immediate  predecessor,  Anne  de  Bretagne,  although 
the  latter  had  been  heiress  of  Brittany. 

Not  only  were  the  respective  ages  of  the  con- 
tracting parties  wholly  disproportioned,  but  the 
previous  education  of  Mary  had  rendered  her  in 
every  respect  ill-suited  to  perform  the  duties  which 
she  was  thus  called  upon  so  suddenly  to  fulfil.  Her 
heart  had,  moreover,  already  been  bestowed  else- 
where ;  while,  as  she  afterwards  proved,  her  affec- 
tions were  by  no  means  so  stable  as  to  hold  out 
any  rational  hope  that  she  would  attach  herself  in 
earnest  and  good  faith  to  her  mature  husband, 
although  she  had  been  so  well  tutored  in  courtly 
dissimulation  as  effectually  to  conceal  her  real  feel- 
ings. Having  lost  her  mother  when  she  was  only 
five  years  of  age,  she  had  been  allowed  a  greater 
license  of  thought  and  action  than  was  compatible 
with  her  sex  and  rank ;  and  although  scarcely 
sixteen  at  the  period  of  her  marriage,  she  had 
already  encouraged  the  attentions  of  Charles  Bran- 
don, Duke  of  Suffolk,  the  foster-brother  and 
favourite  of  Henry  VHL,  whose  comparatively 
obscure  birth  had  been  concealed,  even  if  not  for- 
gotten, under  the  splendour  of  his  new  title.  The 
partiality  of  the  king  and  his  own  universal  popu- 
larity rendered  the  new-made  duke  bold ;  while 
the  evident  admiration  of  Mary,  upon  whom  his 
great  personal  beauty  and  manly  bearing  had  not 


124  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

failed  to  produce  their  effect,  combined  with  the 
constant  opportunities  which  were  afforded  to  him 
of  prosecuting  his  ambitious  suit,  would  probably 
have  ensured  its  ultimate  success  had  not  the  over- 
tures of  Louis  at  once  opened  the  eyes  of  the 
English  monarch  to  the  impolicy  of  such  a  con- 
cession. 

Thus  far  Mary  was  beyond  all  doubt  more  to 
be  commiserated  than  condemned,  and  had  she 
more  perfectly  fulfilled  her  mission  as  a  wife  and 
a  queen,  every  heart  must  have  sympathized  in 
the  cruel  constraint  to  which  she  had  been  sub- 
jected ;  but  she  was  vain,  reckless,  and  careless 
of  that  dignity  which  would  have  compelled  respect, 
and  taught  those  who  approached  her  to  overlook 
the  young  and  blooming  woman  in  the  self-con- 
trolled and  virtuous  sovereign. 

Before  the  ratification  of  the  marriage -treaty 
the  princess  declared,  in  the  presence  of  a  notary 
and  witnesses,  that  she  had  pledged  her  faith  by 
compulsion  to  the  Archduke  Charles,  who  was  to 
have  married  her  by  proxy  on  attaining  his  four- 
teenth year,  which  he  had  failed  to  do ;  and  she 
further  asserted  that  she  had  received  assurances 
to  the  effect  that  his  counsellors  and  confidential 
friends  had  exerted  all  their  influence  to  infuse  into 
his  mind  a  spirit  of  resentment  against,  and  dislike 
to,  her  royal  brother. 

The  treaty  was  then  completed,  and  the  months 
of  August  and  September  were  spent  in  making  the 
necessary  preparations  for  the  voyage  of  the  young 


IS  13-14  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  125 

queen — one  of  the  conditions  agreed  upon  having 
been  that  Henry  should  defray  all  the  outlay  of  her 
journey  to  Abbeville,  and  that  one  moiety  of  her 
dower  should  be  expended  in  jewels. 

On  the  13th  of  August  the  marriage  took  place 
by  proxy  at  Greenwich,  the  Due  de  Longueville 
representing  his  royal  master ;  after  which  the  prin- 
cess crossed  to  Boulogne,  attended  by  a  splendid 
retinue,  where  she  was  received  upon  her  landing  by 
the  Due  de  Vendome,  who  a  day  or  two  subse- 
quently conducted  her  to  Abbeville.  The  king, 
whose  impatience  had  been  excited  by  the  florid 
descriptions  which  he  had  heard  of  her  beauty,  and 
who  was  anxious  to  ascertain  their  truth,  had  already 
arrived  in  that  city ;  but,  unable  to  control  his  desire 
to  see  her  at  the  earliest  moment,  he  mounted  his 
horse  and  proceeded  to  a  village  upon  the  road, 
where  they  were  privately  introduced,  and  he 
remained  for  a  few  moments  in  conversation  with 
his  bride  and  the  triumphant  ambassador.  Fas- 
cinated and  elated,  he  then  returned  to  Abbeville  as 
unostentatiously  as  he  had  left  it;  while  the  prin- 
cess continued  her  stately  progress  to  the  city  gates, 
where  she  was  welcomed  according  to  the  prescribed 
ceremonial  by  the  Due  de  Valois,  and  greeted  by  a 
succession  of  the  most  costly  and  magnificent  page- 
ants that  human  ingenuity  and  knightly  courtesy 
could  invent. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  brilliance  of  the 
young  queen's  retinue,  which  was  worthy  the  sister 
of  one  sovereign  and  the  bride  of  another ;  but  per- 


1-6  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

haps  the  most  interesting  circumstance  connected 
with  it  exists  in  the  fact  that  the  fair  and  unfortunate 
Anne  Boleyn,  then  in  her  first  girlhood,  was  one  of 
her  four  maids  of  honour,  and  of  the  thirty-six  female 
attendants  by  whom  she  was  accompanied. 

Even  at  that  early  age,  however,  it  would  appear, 
from  the  testimony  of  a  contemporary  historian,  that 
the  Court  beauty  had  already  imbibed  that  thirst  for 
admiration  and  that  baneful  ambition  which  were 
fated  to  be  her  downfall ;  for  when,  by  her  grace  and 
beauty,  and  above  all  by  the  seductive  attraction  of 
her  manner  and  the  vivacity  of  her  intellect,  she 
had  captivated  the  mind  of  the  Princesse  Claude  to 
such  an  extent  that  she  caused  her  to  be  attached  to 
her  own  household,  she  soon  wearied  of  the  whole- 
some restraints  to  which  she  was  there  subjected, 
and  passed  into  the  suite  of  the  Duchesse  d'Alen- 
9on,  where  she  became  the  idol  of  the  courtiers  by 
whom  she  was  surrounded,  and  whose  attentions  she 
encouraged  until  she  felt  that  they  were  likely  to 
interfere  with  her  more  serious  projects. 

The  impression  produced  upon  the  feelings  of 
Louis  XII.  by  the  extraordinary  loveliness  of  his 
new  consort  has  been  duly  recorded  by  all  contem- 
porary historians,  but  the  emotions  of  the  young 
and  blooming  princess,  thus  abruptly  compelled  to 
receive  to  her  heart  the  mature  and  already  infirm 
monarch,  have  nowhere  been  registered.  Suffice  it, 
that  the  marriage  was  once  more  celebrated  at  Abbe- 
ville on  the  nth  of  October,  and  that  an  alliance 
which  had  originally  been  dictated  by  state  policy  was 


1513-14  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  127 

at  once  cemented  by  the  charms  of  the  girl-queen ; 
while  it  was  rendered  as  welcome  to  the  nation  as  to 
its  monarch  by  the  fact  that  it  put  a  termination  to  a 
disastrous  war  with  England  and  to  some  difficult 
negotiations  with  Austria. 

The  ceremony  was  not  performed  in  the  cathe- 
dral, but  in  a  vast  saloon  of  the  palace,  which  was 
hung  throughout  with  cloth  of  gold,  and  so  spacious 
that  all  present  could  command  a  view  of  the 
contracting  parties.  The  king  and  queen  were 
seated  side  by  side  under  a  canopy  at  the  upper  end 
of  the  apartment,  and  the  royal  bride,  with  her  hair 
totally  unconfined,  and  scattered  over  her  shoulders, 
wore  a  small  hat  above  the  luxuriant  tresses,  which 
were  unanimously  declared  to  be  unrivalled  through- 
out Christendom,  in  lieu  of  the  crown  which  could 
be  assumed  only  when  her  coronation  took  place  at 
St.  Denis.  The  Due  d'Angouleme  officiated  as 
bridesman,  and  the  Princesse  Claude  was  the  prin- 
cipal attendant  of  the  bride,  although  her  fair  brow 
was  clouded  as  she  remembered  the  recent  death  of 
her  mother.  A  splendid  banquet,  followed  by  a  ball, 
concluded  the  ceremony  ;  after  which  the  Court  pro- 
ceeded to  St.  Denis,  where,  on  the  5th  of  November, 
the  ceremonial  of  Mary's  coronation  took  place  with 
great  pomp  in  the  cathedral ;  and  on  the  succeeding 
day  she  made  her  entry  into  Paris  as  Queen  of 
France,  accompanied  not  only  by  all  that  was  great 
and  noble  in  the  country,  but  also  by  her  English 
suite  and  a  number  of  foreigners  of  distinction,  all  of 
whom  were  entertained  during  the  marriage  festivi- 


128  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

ties  at  the  expense  of  the  king.  These  tourneys 
and  banquets  were  continued  for  the  space  of  six 
weeks,  after  which  the  English  retinue  of  the  young 
queen  returned  home  laden  with  valuable  presents, 
leaving  the  Duke  of  Suffolk  as  ambassador  at  the 
French  Court, — a  short-sighted  piece  of  policy,  of 
which  Henry  VIII.  in  after-life  would  assuredly 
never  have  been  guilty. 

The  advent  of  the  new  sovereign  at  once  changed 
the  mourning  of  the  Court  into  festivity  and  splen- 
dour ;  nor  was  it  long  ere  the  fancy,  if  not  the  heart, 
of  Mary  became  thralled  by  the  handsome  person 
and  chivalric  accomplishments  of  the  young  Due  de 
Valois ;  while  not  even  the  recollection  that  he  was 
the  husband  of  her  step-daughter  sufficed  to  compel 
her  to  that  self-control  which  might  have  concealed 
her  weakness.  Suffolk  himself  was  forgotten  in  this 
new  passion,  and  by  her  own  levity  and  want  of 
caution  it  ere  long  became  a  subject  of  comment  to 
the  whole  Court.  In  the  tilts  and  joustings  which 
daily  succeeded  each  other  for  her  entertainment, 
Francis  was,  unhappily,  always  the  most  prominent 
figure ;  thus  affording  a  dangerous  contrast  to  her 
royal  husband,  who,  despite  the  efforts  which  he 
made  to  assimilate  himself  in  prowess  with  the  young 
and  gallant  cavaliers  about  him,  soon  evinced  unequi- 
vocal symptoms  of  his  inability  to  persevere  in  such  a 
career  of  dissipation  and  fatigue. 

The  natural  result  supervened ;  Louis  in  a  short 
time  fell  into  a  state  of  langour  and  exhaustion 
which  betrayed  that  overtaxed  nature  was  revenging 


15 13-14  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  129 

herself  for  these  untimely  excesses,  and  the  hopes 
of  Francis  once  more  became  buoyant.  Meanwhile, 
however,  he  succeeded  in  establishing  a  closer  inti- 
macy between  his  young  stepmother  and  his  gentle 
wife,  by  which  he  was  enabled  to  enjoy  the  society 
of  the  former  without  any  apparent  effort,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  secure  himself  against  any  new  rival  in 
her  affections. 

To  the  Princesse  Claude  such  a  friend  was  doubly 
welcome  from  the  fact  that  she  already  suffered 
severely  under  the  rigorous  rule  of  Louise  de  Savoie, 
who,  profiting  by  her  timid  and  yielding  nature, 
revenged  upon  the  daughter  her  old  hatred  of  the 
dead  parent,  and  condemned  her  to  a  life  of  almost 
perfect  seclusion,  in  which  she  was  wholly  dependant 
for  amusement  upon  the  nunlike'  court  which  had 
been  formed  for  her,  her  breviary,  and  her  spinning- 
wheel.  Little  did  the  pure-hearted  and  neglected 
wife  of  the  brilliant  Francis  apprehend,  when  she 
received  with  sisterly  affection  the  beautiful  young 
queen,  that  she  was  daily  undermining  her  in  the 
affections  of  a  husband  whom  she  idolized.  But 
this,  according  to  Brantome,  did  not  fail  to  come  to 
pass.  Mary  was,  on  her  side,  as  much  dazzled  by 
the  showy  qualities  of  Francis  as  he  was  enthralled 
by  her  surpassing  beauty ;  nor  was  it  long  ere  she 
listened  without  displeasure  to  an  avowal  of  his  pas- 
sion, rendered  doubly  culpable  from  their  relative 
position.  M.  de  Grignaud  also,  a  noble  of  Peri- 
gord,  who  had  been  chevalier  alionneur  to  Anne  de 
Bretagne,  and  then  held  the  same  office  under  Mary, 
VOL.  I  9 


I30  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  v 

considered  it  necessary  to  warn  the  Due  de  Valois 
against  the  possible  consequences  of  so  undue  an 
intimacy ;  and  upon  finding  his  remonstrances 
disregarded,  subsequently  informed  Louise  de  Savoie 
of  the  peril  to  her  son's  interests  which  must  super- 
vene, in  order  that  she  might  keep  a  strict  watch 
over  the  progress  of  their  attachment. 

That  Mary  should  ever  have  contemplated  so  hein- 
ous a  crime  is,  however,  more  than  improbable.  Guilt 
is  ever  prone  to  assume  a  veil  of  caution  and  dis- 
simulation, while  there  was  nothing  bordering  upon 
these  in  her  common  deportment.  On  the  contrary, 
she  constantly  addressed  the  duke  as  "  my  son-in- 
law,"  and  admitted  him  publicly  to  all  the  privileges 
of  so  near  a  connection  ;  openly  evincing  the  prefer- 
ence which  she  felt  for  his  society,  and  exceeding  on 
many  occasions  the  limits  which  a  more  delicately 
constituted  mind  would  have  conceded  even  to  the 
claim  of  so  intimate  a  relationship.  That  she  not 
only  admired  Francis,  but  also  loved  him,  is  her 
reproach  ;  and  that  reproach  should  surely  suffice — 
for  it  was  a  heavy  one. 

The  subsequent  attempt  imputed  to  her  by  the 
same  authority  to  impose  a  surreptitious  heir  upon  the 
nation  is  deserving  of  quite  as  little  credit ;  for  Mary, 
who  had  already  given  proof  of  her  aptitude  in  con- 
formins:  herself  to  circumstances  in  the  almost  affec- 
tionate  letters  which  she  had  addressed  to  Louis 
XI L  before  their  marriage,  and  who,  on  the  demise 
of  the  king,  saw  herself  closely  surrounded  by  the 
very  individuals  who  were  the  most  vitally  concerned 


1513-14  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  131 

in  unmasking  such  a  deception,  was  not  likely  to 
degrade  alike  herself  and  her  high  station  by  so  base 
and  shallow  an  artifice  ;  while  her  almost  immediate 
union  with  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  however  much  it 
tended  to  confirm  the  previous  opinion  of  her  levity, 
is  nevertheless  also  the  best  refutation  of  the  coarse 
and  unmanly  slander.  That  she  was  eminently  im- 
prudent during  the  brief  period  of  her  royalty  is  un- 
fortunately undeniable,  but  from  imprudence  there  is, 
happily,  a  long  step  to  flagrant  culpability.  In  any 
case,  she  was  not  long  destined  to  retain  the  dignity 
of  Queen  of  France,  for  she  had  been  but  eighty- 
two  days  a  wife  ere  she  became  a  widow.  The  first 
symptoms  of  the  langour  which  proved  fatal  to  Louis 
XII.  manifested  themselves,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  before  the  festivities  consequent  upon  his  mar- 
riage had  yet  terminated.  An  alarming  attack  of 
gout  supervened,  and  he  became  so  much  enfeebled 
by  its  violence  that  he  was  at  length  compelled  to 
attend  the  jousts  and  tourneys  upon  a  litter ;  while 
so  rapidly  did  the  disease  progress  that  ere  long  he 
was  unable  to  leave  his  bed.  Nevertheless  his  phy- 
sicians, unwilling  to  believe  that  he  was  really  sink- 
ing, continued  to  declare  that  he  would  rally ;  but 
Louis  himself  repudiated  the  idea.  He  too  surely 
felt  that  the  grasp  of  death  was  upon  him,  and  met 
his  fate  with  a  calmness  worthy  of  a  great  monarch 
and  an  honest  man. 

When  he  became  conscious  that  his  end  was 
near  he  summoned  the  young  Due  de  Valois  to 
his  bedside,  and  having,  with  considerable  difficulty, 


132  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I         chap,  v 

raised  himself  to  a  sitting  posture,  flung  his  arms 
about  his  neck,  and  embracing  him  with  affectionate 
emotion  said  feebly,  but  firmly,  *'  Francis,  I  am 
dying  !  I  consign  our  subjects  to  your  care."  The 
prince  burst  into  tears,  and  implored  him  to  dismiss 
such  gloomy  thoughts,  as  his  physicians  augured 
more  favourably.  The  dying  king,  however,  only 
shook  his  head  ;  he  was  aware  that  earthly  help 
could  avail  him  no  longer,  and  as  his  weeping 
successor  established  himself  beside  his  pillow,  he 
exerted  his  last  remaining  powers  to  impress  upon 
him  the  awful  extent  of  the  responsibility  with 
which  he  would,  in  a  few  hours,  be  invested. 
Acute  suffering  at  length  terminated  his  efforts, 
and  he  expired  in  the  arms  of  his  royal  nephew, 
with  a  smile  of  gratified  affection  upon  his  lips. 

Thus,  while  yet  deeply  enamoured  of  his  fair 
young  wife,  surrounded  by  worldly  grandeur  and 
festivity,  and  meditating  in  his  graver  moments 
future  expeditions  against  Italy,  Louis  XII.,  whose 
hurried  journey  to  receive  his  bride,  and  whose 
exertions  during  the  subsequent  rejoicings  to 
assume  the  semblance  of  a  youth  and  vigour  which 
he  no  longer  possessed,  had  overtaxed  his  physical 
powers,  fell  a  victim  to  his  imprudence  about  midnight 
of  the  ist  of  January  15 15. 


CHAPTER    VI 

The  queen  cedes  her  estates  to  her  husband — The  Bretons  disallow  her  right 
— Enthusiasm  of  the  French  people  on  the  accession  of  Francis — His 
coronation — His  interview  with  Queen  Mary — His  caution  to  Suffolk — 
Brandon  marries  the  widowed  queen — Is  reproached  by  Francis  for  his 
perfidy — But  reconciled  to  Henry  at  the  entreaty  of  his  wife,  and  returns 
to  England — Francis  makes  his  public  entry  into  Paris— His  profusion — 
His  romantic  tastes — His  high  spirit — He  forms  his  government — Charles 
de  Bourbon  created  Constable  of  France — Marriage  of  Mademoiselle  de 
Bourbon  with  the  Due  de  Lorraine — The  king  and  the  wild  boar — The 
court  of  Madame  d'Angouleme — Her  maids  of  honour — Circle  of  the 
queen — Her  love  of  retirement — Francis  resolves  to  recover  the  Milanese 
— The  Archduke  Charles  sends  Ambassadors  to  France — Is  promised  the 
hand  of  the  Princesse  Renee,  the  queen's  sister — Henry  of  Nassau — He 
marries  Claudine  de  Chalon — State  of  Europe — Treaty  between  France 
and  England — Francis  endeavours  to  conciliate  the  Swiss — They  threaten 
to  invade  France — Francis  marches  a  strong  force  towards  Burgundy — 
Ferdinand  endeavours  to  alarm  the  Pope  and  the  emperor — Francis 
removes  to  Amboise,  and  sends  an  embassy  to  Rome. 

Francis  I.  was  no  sooner  proclaimed  king  than 
Queen  Claude,  in  consideration  of  the  pledge  which 
he  had  given  to  provide  the  dowry  of  the  Princesse 
Renee,  her  sister,  formally  ceded  to  him  the  duchy 
of  Brittany  and  the  counties  of  Nantes,  Blois, 
Etampes,  and  Montfort,  to  be  enjoyed  and  go- 
verned during  his  life,  as  veritable  Duke  of 
Brittany. 

This  first  cession  took  place  on  the  2  2d  of  April, 
but  on  the  28th  of  June  following,  as  it  did  not  by 
any  means  secure  to  her  royal  husband  the  whole 


134  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

extent  of  the  desired  benefit,  the  queen  was  induced 
to  execute  a  new  deed,  by  which  she  conferred  these 
privileges  upon  him  for  ever,  in  failure  of  her  own 
children,  should  they  die  before  him.  This  wife- 
like  divestiture  was,  however,  only  partially  valid, 
as  the  marriage-contract  of  Anne  de  Bretagne  had 
distinctly  endowed  her  second  son  with  the  posses- 
sion and  sovereignty  of  the  duchy  ;  while,  as  there 
had  been  a  failure  of  male  issue,  and  the  clause  had 
never  been  revised,  the  Bretons,  who  were  anxious 
to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  French  supremacy,  and 
who  contended  that  the  crowns  of  Brittany  and 
France  could  not  legally  be  united  upon  the  same 
head  unless  it  were  that  of  an  only  son,  would  not 
admit  the  claim  of  Claude,  but  declared  the  right 
of  succession  to  be  in  favour  of  her  younger  sister ; 
this  alienation  and  disposal  having  been,  moreover, 
stipulated  when  negotiations  were  pending  for  a 
marriage  between  Madame  Claude  and  the  Count 
of  Luxembourg.  In  this  opinion  they  were  sup- 
ported by  another  clause,  which  bestowed  the  duchy 
upon  the  second  child,  were  it  male  or  female  ;  and 
in  virtue  of  the  said  contract  the  Bretons  declared 
that  the  Princesse  Renee  was  the  legitimate 
heiress. 

Consequently  the  donation  made  by  the  queen 
of  Francis  I.  met  with  no  ratification  from  the 
Bretons  themselves ;  and  the  rather  that  there  still 
existed  certain  families  In  the  duchy  who  possessed 
collateral  claims  to  the  succession,  but  who,  seeing 
the  king  already  the  father  of  a  young  family,  every 


ISI5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  135 

individual  of  which  must  inherit  before  them,  re- 
mained passive,  and  awaited  future  events. 

The  acclamations  of  the  army,  the  lays  of  the 
most  distinguished  national  poets,  the  tumultuous 
shouting  of  the  vassals,  and  the  congratulations 
of  all  the  feudatory  nobles,  were  the  welcome 
of  Francis  as  he  ascended  the  throne  of  France. 
His  first  act  of  royalty  was  to  proclaim  a  suspen- 
sion of  arms,  and  once  more  the  country  for  a  brief 
space  breathed  freely.  On  the  25th  of  January  he 
was  crowned  with  great  pomp  at  the  cathedral  of 
Rheims  by  Robert  de  Lenoncourt,  Archbishop  of 
Paris ;  and  never  had  either  of  those  two  great 
cities  made  so  profuse  a  display  of  magnificence 
as  upon  that  occasion ;  while  previously,  as  if  to 
refute  the  most  heinous  slander  of  Brantome  on 
Queen  Mary,  a  contemporary  writer  asserts  that 
Francis  waited  upon  her  daily  to  condole  with  her 
upon  her  bereavement,  accompanied  by  Madame 
Claude  his  wife,  during  the  lapse  of  six  weeks — the 
period  assigned  for  the  royal  widows  of  France  to 
remain  in  their  beds,  seeing  no  light  save  that  of 
the  wax  tapers  by  which  their  apartments  were  illu- 
minated— and  that  he  then  and  there  formally  de- 
manded to  know  whether  he  might  consider  himself 
as  the  legitimate  sovereign  of  France,  a  question 
which  she  alone  was  competent  to  answer,  when 
the  young  widow  at  once  and  unhesitatingly  replied 
that  such  he  was. 

Moreover,  Francis  had  long  been  cognisant  of 
the  attachment  which  had  formerly  existed  between 


136  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

Mary  and  Suffolk,  and  formally  warned  the  latter 
against  any  proceeding  which  might  excite  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  English  monarch. 

"  I  am  aware,  duke,"  he  said  gravely,  "of  your 
whole  history,  of  your  affection  for  the  queen  of 
Louis  XII.,  of  the  influence  which  you  possess  in 
England,  and  of  much  more  than  you  can  be  pre- 
pared to  suppose.  I  am  anxious  that  nothing  should 
occur  to  dishonour  me,  nor  to  cause  umbrage  to  my 
brother,  the  King  of  England,  towards  whom  I 
desire  to  exhibit  the  same  friendship  and  cordiality 
which  were  felt  by  the  late  king,  my  father-in-law. 
I  therefore  entreat  of  you  not  to  take  any  steps 
which  may  involve  our  good  understanding ;  and 
should  a  promise  have  been  exchanged  between 
yourself  and  the  queen,  to  be  careful  of  my  dignity, 
by  taking  immediate  measures  to  secure  the  approval 
of  the  king  your  master,  and  by  inducing  him  to 
inform  me  in  writing  of  his  good  pleasure,  at  which 
I  shall  rejoice  should  it  be  favourable  to  your  wishes. 
But,  if  it  prove  otherwise,  I  warn  you  on  your  life 
to  beware  of  what  you  do,  for  should  you  disobey 
me  I  will  make  you  bitterly  repent  your  impru- 
dence." 

This  caution  the  duke  received  without  evinc- 
ing the  slightest  resentment,  declaring  on  oath  that 
he  would  attempt  nothing  derogatory  to  his  own 
honour  or  to  the  will  of  the  king  his  master ;  a 
pledge  which  he,  however,  falsified  almost  on  the 
instant,  urged,  as  some  historians  declare,  by  the 
representations  and  entreaties  of  Mary  herself;  for 


1 515  FRANCIS  THE  FIRST  137 

only  four  or  five  days  subsequently  to  this  interview 
a  secret  marriage  took  place,  and  the  dowager-queen 
of  France  became  Duchess  of  Suffolk. 

Francis,  indignant  at  this  want  of  faith,  sum- 
moned the  duke  to  his  presence,  and  reproached 
him  vehemently  for  his  perfidy.  He  even  con- 
cluded his  remarks  by  saying,  "  If  I  were  strictly 
to  perform  my  duty,  I  should,  this  very  hour,  strike 
your  head  from  your  shoulders,  for  you  have  vio- 
lated your  oath." 

The  duke,  terrified  by  the  menace,  hastened  to 
justify  himself.  "  I  beseech  of  you,  Sire,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  to  pardon  me.  I  confess  that  I  have 
erred ;  but  I  entreat  your  majesty  to  remember  the 
strength  of  the  affection  by  which  I  have  been 
misled,  and  to  extend  your  mercy  in  so  extreme  a 
case." 

"Sir,"  was  the  stern  reply,  "you  require  more 
than  I  am  disposed  to  grant ;  for  you  appear  on 
your  part  to  have  forgotten  that  the  lady  whom 
you  have  induced  to  become  your  wife  was  not 
only  a  princess  of  England  but  also  the  dowager- 
queen  of  France.  Let  the  king  your  master  only 
require  it  of  me,  and  I  shall  at  once  know  how  to 
avenge  alike  his  dignity  and  my  own." 

But  however  the  young  king  might  have  felt  it 
incumbent  upon  him  to  exhibit  this  indignation,  it 
is  not  the  less  certain  that  the  clandestine  marriage 
of  Mary  with  one  of  her  brother's  subjects  was  by 
no  means  unwelcome  to  him,  as  it  precluded  the 
possibility  of  her  hand    being   hereafter   bestowed 


138  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap.vi 

upon  some  prince  who  might  be  at  enmity  with 
France,  and  induce  the  English  monarch  to  espouse 
his  interests ;  a  consideration  which  decided  him,  in 
accordance  with  the  request  of  the  queen-duchess, 
to  intercede  with  Henry  VIII.,  and  to  procure  the 
pardon  of  the  culprits.  In  this  undertaking  he 
easily  succeeded,  the  influence  of  the  favourite 
being  still  great  over  the  mind  of  his  royal  master ; 
and  he  then  lost  no  time  before — governed  by  the 
same  policy,  and,  moreover,  instigated  beyond  all 
doubt  by  the  human  weakness  which,  whatever 
might  be  his  own  line  of  conduct,  led  him  to  con- 
ceal the  mortification  that  a  nature  so  vain  as  his 
could  not  fail  to  experience  on  perceiving  the  faci- 
lity with  which  Mary  had  cast  off  the  yoke  of  his 
fascinations  and  restored  her  wavering  affection  to 
its  first  object — Francis  hastened  to  repay  to  the 
princess  the  dowry  which  she  had  brought  to  Louis 
XII.,  and  to  expedite  her  return  to  England  with 
her  new  bridegroom. 

The  solemn  entry  of  the  young  king  into  his 
good  city  of  Paris  was  hailed  with  delight.  His 
commanding  person,  splendid  horsemanship,  and 
urbane  deportment  won  all  hearts,  and  made  his 
progress  one  unbroken  triumph.  All  the  princes 
and  noble  ladies  of  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  many 
foreigners  of  rank,  were  in  his  train.  Jousts  and 
tourneys  occupied  the  succeeding  days,  at  the  whole 
of  which  the  high-born  dames  and  damsels  of  the 
Court  were  present,  as  well  as  at  the  balls  and 
banquets,    which   filled   the    streets   with   equipages 


15 15  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  139 

and  torchlight  throughout  the  entire  nights.  Above 
twelve  hundred  princes,  dukes,  counts,  and  cavaliers 
assisted  at  these  memorable  festivities,  which  were 
rendered  still  more  brilliant  by  the  presence  of  the 
queen,  the  Comtesse  d'Angouleme,  Madame  de 
Bourbon,  and  all  the  ladies  of  their  respective 
suites.  Nor  did  even  this  magnificence  suffice  to 
satisfy  the  superb  tastes  of  Francis,  for  he  no 
sooner  felt  the  crown  firmly  fixed  upon  his  brow 
than  he  became  anxious  to  exhibit  his  splendour 
to  the  whole  of  his  people ;  and  accordingly,  as  if 
to  form  as  startling  a  contrast  as  possible  with  the 
staid  and  sober  state  of  his  predecessor,  the  Court- 
galas  were  divested  of  their  exclusiveness,  and  not 
only  the  whole  of  the  nobility  but  even  the  bozir- 
geoisie  were  admitted, — a  popular  measure,  which 
for  a  time  blinded  all  ranks  to  the  enormous  outlay 
that  they  involved ;  and  it  was  not  until  it  was 
found  necessary  to  increase  the  national  taxes,  in 
order  to  supply  the  exhausted  treasury,  that  the 
more  prudent  of  the  citizens  began  to  question  the 
expediency  of  thus  impoverishing  the  revenues  of 
the  country  for  the  mere  purposes  of  amusement. 

The  young  king  no  sooner  found  himself  at 
liberty  to  regulate  his  own  studies  than  he  laid 
aside  all  books,  save  those  chivalrous  romances  in 
which,  from  his  earliest  boyhood,  he  had  delighted, 
and  upon  which  he  sought  to  model  his  own 
character.  Nor  was  it  long  ere  he  infected  all  the 
young  nobles  about  his  person  with  the  same  ex- 
travagant and  romantic  fancy.     The  Knights  of  the 


I40  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

Round  Table  became  the  models  of  the  French 
courtiers,  and  the  palace  of  Charlemagne  their  ideal 
habitation ;  while  the  beauties  of  the  Court  eagerly 
welcomed  a  state  of  society  in  which  they  were  out- 
wardly worshipped  as  goddesses,  despite  the  con- 
cealed contempt  which  the  frailties  of  too  many 
among  them  might  induce.  Moreover,  Louise  de 
Savoie,  who  idolized  her  son,  and  was  proud  of  his 
personal  beauty  and  accomplishments,  in  order  to 
retain  her  power  over  his  mind,  encouraged  him  in 
every  caprice  which  could  flatter  his  vanity  or 
consolidate  her  own  influence ;  and  she,  conse- 
quently, offered  rather  furtherance  than  objection 
to  a  puerile  ambition  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  great 
monarch,  who  soon  learned  to  consider  animal 
courage  as  the  highest  virtue  to  which  a  sovereign 
could  attain,  and  to  neglect  the  more  important 
tactics  of  modern  warfare,  while  he  attached  an 
undue  value  to  mere  personal  prowess. 

Nor  was  this  vital  mistake  in  the  field  compen- 
sated by  prudence  in  the  internal  economy  of  the 
nation,  for,  already  constitutionally  enamoured  of 
whatever  was  magnificent  and  striking,  the  favourite 
studies  of  Francis  led  him  to  suppose  that  all  minor 
considerations  should  give  way  before  the  regal 
state  by  which  it  was  his  passion  to  surround  him- 
self; a  fatal  error,  which  was  destined  to  be 
expiated  by  his  subjects  ;  while,  in  order  the  more 
thoroughly  to  embody  the  personage  of  his  excit- 
able imagination,  he  taught  himself  to  believe  that 
a    monarch    who    was    also    a   true    knight    should 


15 1 5  FRANCIS  THE  FIRST  141 

neither  give  battle  nor  retreat  before  a  superior 
force.  His  leading  ambition  was  to  be  at  once  a 
great  king  and  a  preux  chevalier — courteous  and 
liberal  towards  the  other  sex,  and  absolute  with  his 
own.  To  him  the  members  of  the  national  parlia- 
ments, the  most  powerful  of  his  nobility,  and  the 
bulk  of  his  people,  were  alike  as  regarded  his  sove- 
reign will  and  rule ;  he  admitted  no  opposition  to 
his  power,  recognized  no  right  of  opinion  save  his 
own,  and  brooked  neither  dissent  nor  delay  when 
once  his  pleasure  was  made  known. 

These  were  sufficiently  dangerous  elements  in 
the  nature  of  one  called  at  so  early  an  age  to 
govern  a  great  nation  ;  but  the  redeeming  quality 
of  Francis  was  an  elevation  of  character  that  led 
him  to  emulate  both  the  physical  and  moral  heroism 
of  which  he  had  made  his  idol ;  and  thus  his  very 
errors  wore  an  aspect  of  kingly  splendour  which 
dazzled  even  those  who  were  capable  of  appreciating 
their  danger,  and  which  has  subsequently  served  as 
their  palliation  with  the  majority  of  his  historians. 
Moreover,  the  young  monarch,  reared  in  the  midst 
of  an  admiring  court,  had  imbibed  no  prejudices 
and  nourished  no  jealousies.  The  liberality  of 
Louis  XII.,  who  had  been  too  high-minded  to  treat 
him  with  distrust  because  he  was  destined  to  succeed 
to  the  crown,  had  effectually  prevented  the  existence 
of  all  cabals  and  party-spirit ;  and  thus  his  first  act 
of  royal  power  was  not,  as  is  so  frequently  the  case 
on  an  accession,  to  displace,  but  to  confirm,  the 
ministers  of  the  late  king  in  their  several   offices, 


142  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

while  he  was  equally  regardful  of  his  personal 
friends. 

Upon  his  mother  Francis  bestowed  the  title  of 
duchess,  with  an  increased  revenue,  and  the  palace 
of  Amboise  as  a  residence.  His  sister  Marguerite 
was  invested  with  the  dignity  of  Madame,  and  was 
thenceforward  called  both  Madame  de  France  and 
Madame  de  Valois,  while  two  years  subsequently 
she  was  created  Duchesse  de  Berri.  The  vacant 
office  of  Constable  of  France  was,  at  her  earnest 
request,  bestowed  upon  Charles  de  Montpensier, 
who  had,  by  his  marriage  with  his  cousin  Suzanne, 
daughter  and  heiress  of  the  Sire  de  Beaujeu  and 
Madame  Anne  de  France,  become  Due  de  Bourbon, 
— a  marriage  in  which,  notwithstanding  the  amiable 
qualities  possessed  by  both  parties,  no  happiness 
could  be  anticipated,  from  the  fact  that  bride  and 
bridegroom  had  alike  already  bestowed  their  affec- 
tions elsewhere,  and  to  which  a  desire  to  escape 
from  certain  disagreeable  discussions  which  might 
have  arisen  from  sundry  clauses  in  the  will  of  a 
common  ancestor  of  the  two  contracting  parties 
had  alone  induced  Charles  to  consent. 

In  conferring  the  dignity  of  constable  upon  the 
duke,  Francis  I.  had  made  a  great  concession  to  his 
affection  for  Marguerite,  for  he  had  never  forgotten 
the  quarrel  which  had  taken  place  between  them  ten 
years  previously  at  the  castle  of  Amboise  ;  and  the 
favour  was  enhanced  by  the  fact  that,  since  the 
treason  of  Saint- Pol, ^  in  the  reign  of   Louis   XL, 

1  Louis  de  Luxembourg,   Comte  de   Saint-Pol,  was  born    about 


I5I5  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  143 

this,  the  highest  official  dignity  in  the  kingdom,  had 
only  been  granted  long  subsequently  to  the  death  of 
that  noble  by  Anne  de  France,  then  Dame  de 
Beaujeu,  to  the  Due  Jean  de  Bourbon,  her  hus- 
band's elder  brother ;  while,  since  that  period,  the 
post  had  remained  vacant,  and  was  supposed  to  be 
virtually  annulled,  although  not  formally  abolished, 
neither  Charles  VIII.  nor  Louis  XII.  having  ap- 
pointed a  successor  to  Jean  de  Bourbon.  The 
Comte  de  Vendome  became  Governor  of  the  Isle 
of  France ;  M.  de  Lautrec  ^  was  invested  with  the 
government   of    Guienne ;    Bonnivet   was    created 


1430.  He  at  first  took  up  arms  for  the  English,  but  subsequently 
made  his  submission  to  Charles  VII.  of  France.  He  became  the 
constant  companion  of  the  dauphin,  and  assisted  at  the  taking  of  the 
Norman  towns  from  the  English  in  1449.  He  commanded  the 
vanguard  at  the  battle  of  Montlhery,  and  Louis  XL,  in  order  to 
detach  him  from  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  to  whose  interests  he 
leaned,  made  him  Constable  of  France.  Saint-Pol  took  the  cities  of 
Saint-Quentin  and  Amiens  from  Charles  the  Bold  ;  but,  impelled  by 
the  spirit  of  intrigue  with  which  he  was  possessed,  he  endeavoured 
to  create  discord  between  the  two  princes,  who,  ultimately  perceiving 
that  he  was  betraying  them  both,  agreed  to  render  him  the  victim  of 
his  own  duplicity.  An  opportunity  of  doing  this  soon  presented 
itself  by  his  proposing  to  open  the  gates  of  the  fortresses  on  the 
Somme  to  Edward  of  England,  while  at  the  same  time  he  renewed 
his  offers  of  service  to  Louis.  Seized  as  a  traitor,  he  was  committed 
to  the  Bastille,  and  finally  beheaded  in  the  Place  de  Gr^ve  in  1475. 
^  Odet  de  Foix,  Sire  de  Lautrec,  IMarechal  de  France,  accom- 
panied Louis  XII.  in  his  expedition  in  Italy,  and  entered  Genoa 
with  him  in  1 507.  The  cousin  and  comrade-in-arms  of  Gaston  de 
Foix,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Ravenna  in  1 5 1 2,  he  defended 
him  courageously  until  he  himself  fell  covered  with  wounds,  none  of 
which,  however,  proved  mortal.  In  1521  Lautrec  was  appointed 
Lieutenant-General  of  Francis  I.  in  Italy.  Compelled  by  his  troops 
to  engage  the  enemy,  he  was  vanquished  at  Bicocca,  and  returned 
to  Paris,  after  having  lost  the  Milanese.  He  returned  to  Italy  in 
1525  and  retook  Genoa,  Alexandria,  and  Pavia,  and  in  1528  fell  a 
victim  to  a  fever  engendered  by  the  excessive  heat  to  which  he  had 
been  exposed  during  the  campaign. 


144  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

Admiral  of  the  Fleet ;  the  Sire  de  la  Palice  was 
made  Marshal  of  France ;  M.  de  Boissy,  who  had 
completed  the  education  of  the  young  king,  received 
the  appointment  of  Grand  Master,  vacated  by  the 
promotion  of  M.  de  la  Palice,  as  well  as  the  superin- 
tendence of  affairs ;  and  Antoine  Duprat,  ^  the 
proUgd  of  Madame  d'Angouleme,  was,  at  her 
earnest  request,  created  Chancellor  of  the  Kingdom. 

This  was  the  most  unfortunate  of  all  the  appoint- 
ments made  by  Francis,  as  to  the  machinations  of 
this  unworthy  minister  many  of  the  subsequent 
calamities  of  his  reign  have  been  universally  attri- 
buted. Rendered  far-sighted  by  his  ambition, 
Duprat  had,  pending  the  misunderstanding  which 
existed  between  Anne  de  Bretagne  and  Louise  de 
Savoie  (at  which  period  he  was  first  president  of  the 
parliament  of  Paris),  attached  himself  to  the  party 
of  the  latter  during  her  temporary  exile  from  the 
Court,  assisted  her  with  his  advice  and  support,  and 
finally  secured  her  unbounded  gratitude. 

As  an  equivalent  for  this  unhappy  selection  of  a 
chancellor,  Francis,  however,  distinguished  by  his 
most  marked  affection  and  favour  Anne,  Seigneur 
de    Montmorency, 2   and    Philippe   Chabot,   Sire  de 

1  Antoine  Duprat  was  born  at  Issoire,  in  Auvergne,  in  1463.  It 
was  by  his  advice  that  Francis  I.  aboHshed  the  pragmatic  sanction, 
and  offered  judicial  appointments  for  sale,  as  well  as  imposing  rents 
upon  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  he  embraced 
the  ecclesiastical  profession,  and  became,  first  Archbishop  of  Sens, 
and  subsequently  a  cardinal.      He  died  in  1535. 

2  Anne  de  Montmorency,  one  of  the  great  captains  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  was  born  in  1493  at  Chantilly.  He  served  his  first 
campaign  in  Italy  in  15 12,  and  in  1521  defended  the  city  of 
Mezi^res  conjointly  with   Bayard.      His  prowess  at  La  Bicocca  was 


I5I5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  145 

Brion,^  two  young  nobles  who  subsequently  made 
themselves  famous  by  the  services  which  they  ren- 
dered to  their  country. 

In  the  month  of  May,  Francis,  probably  some- 
what alarmed  by  the  deficit  which  had  already 
betrayed  itself  in  the  national  exchequer,  removed 
his  court  to  Amboise,  whither  Madame  d'Angouleme 
had  preceded  him,  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating  at 
that  castle  the  marriage  of  Mademoiselle  de  Bour- 
bon, the  sister  of  the  connetable,  with  the  Due  de 
Lorraine ;  and  it  is  upon  record  that,  on  this  occa- 
sion, being  desirous  to  give  some  variety  to  the 
festivities,  which  were  limited  in  their  nature  by  the 
fact  that,  in  a  private  residence,  the  etiquette  of 
mourning  for  the  late  king  did  not  permit  either 
balls  or  masquerades,  the  young  monarch  caused  a 
wild  boar,  which  had  been  taken  alive  in  the  neigh - 

rewarded  by  a  marshal's  bdioft  (1522)  when  he  was  already  Captain- 
General  of  the  Swiss  troops.  Taken  prisoner  at  Pavia,  and  after- 
wards liberated,  he  obtained,  in  consideration  of  his  eminent 
services,  the  rank  of  Grand-Master  and  the  government  of  Langue- 
doc.  The  campaign  of  1536  gained  for  him  the  sword  of  con- 
netable in  1538,  and  from  that  period  to  his  disgrace  in  1541  he 
was  the  soul  of  the  councils  of  Francis  I.  Recalled  by  Henry  II. 
in  1547,  he  conquered  the  Bolognese  in  1550  ;  caused  his  barony  of 
Montmorency  to  be  elevated  to  a  duchy-peerage  in  1551;  and  lost 
the  battle  of  Saint-Quentin,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner  in  1557. 
Once  more  exiled  from  the  Court  in  1559,  he  was  again  recalled  on 
the  accession  of  Charles  IX.  in  1560  ;  declared  himself  against  the 
Calvinists,  and  gained  the  battle  of  Dreux  in  i  562  and  that  of  St. 
Denis  in  1567,  where,  however,  he  was  mortally  wounded,  and 
expired  two  days  afterwards. 

1  Philippe  de  Chabot,  Sire  de  Brion,  the  descendant  of  an  illus- 
trious family  of  Poitou,  was  an  Admiral  of  France,  Governor  of  Bur- 
gundy and  Normandy,  and  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Pavia 
with  Francis  I.  He  commanded  the  Piedmontese  army  in  I535- 
Accused  of  malversation,  he  was  disgraced,  and  condemned  to  a 
fine  of  seventy  thousand  crowns.     He  died  in  1543. 

VOL.  I.  ID 


146  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

bouring  forest,  to  be  turned  loose  in  the  great  court- 
yard of  the  castle,  having  previously  ordered  every 
issue  by  which  the  savage  denizen  of  the  woods 
might  escape  to  be  carefully  closed.  This  being, 
as  it  appeared,  fully  accomplished,  the  courtly  com- 
pany then  assembled  at  Amboise  stationed  them- 
selves at  the  windows,  whence  they  amused  them- 
selves by  casting  darts  and  other  missiles  at  the 
enraged  and  bewildered  animal. 

Highly  excited  by  this  novel  pastime,  bets  ran 
high  between  the  young  nobles  on  their  respective 
skill,  and  bright  eyes  watched  anxiously  the  flight  of 
every  weapon  as  it  was  hurled  from  the  respective 
casements.  Suddenly,  however,  shrieks  of  terror 
echoed  through  the  spacious  apartments.  The  boar, 
tortured  beyond  endurance,  had  made  a  furious 
plunge  at  the  door  which  opened  upon  the  great  stair- 
case ;  had  dashed  it  in,  and  was  rapidly  ascending 
the  steps  which  led  to  the  state  rooms,  and  which 
were  protected  only  by  a  hanging  drapery  of  velvet, 
when  the  king,  rushing  from  the  apartment  where 
the  horror-stricken  ladies  were  crowding  about 
the  queen,  and  thrusting  aside  the  courtiers  who 
endeavoured  to  impede  his  passage,  threw  himself 
full  in  the  path  of  the  maddened  animal,  and  adroitly 
avoiding  his  first  shock,  stabbed  him  to  the  heart. 

The  Duchesse  d'Angouleme  lived  in  sovereign 
style  in  the  castle  of  Amboise.  Like  Anne  de 
Bretagne,  she  retained  a  numerous  household,  and 
it  was  one  more  calculated  than  that  of  her  pre- 
decessor to   increase  the  attraction  of  a  season  of 


1 5 15  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  147 

display  and  festivity  ;  for,  while  her  female  attend- 
ants had  been  selected  for  their  personal  beauty, 
they  were  totally  untrammelled  by  the  wholesome 
and  decent  restraints  which  Anne  had  laid  upon  her 
ladies;  and  already  had  the  licentious  tastes  of  the 
prince  her  son  corrupted  the  little  Court  which  she 
had  collected  about  her,  and  which  had  become  the 
focus  of  intrigue,  gallantry,  and  imprudence.  For 
a  time,  indeed,  the  pollution  of  the  heart  was  not  suf- 
fered publicly  to  pollute  the  lips  ;  but  ere  long  even 
this  tacit  observance  of  propriety  was  disregarded  ; 
and,  as  it  is  always  easy  for  a  woman  to  be  witty 
when  she  lays  aside  her  modesty,  so  the  circle  of 
Madame  d'Angouleme  soon  became  renowned  as 
the  centre  of  gay  humour  and  sprightly  fascination. 

And  in  the  midst  of  this  polluted  Court  lived 
on  the  meek  and  pious  Queen  Claude,  surrounded, 
like  her  stepmother,  with  a  band  of  high-born 
dames  and  damsels,  but,  unlike  her,  giving  to 
those  about  her  person  an  example  of  virtue  and 
self-respect  which  was  strictly  imitated ;  conscious 
of  the  irregularities  of  her  husband — for  where  is 
the  royal  personage  long  permitted  to  remain  in 
happy  ignorance  of  her  own  wrongs  ? — but  un- 
complaining and  patient ;  a  martyr  to  that  keenest 
of  all  woman's  suffering,  a  despised  and  neglected 
affection.  The  abandoned  conduct  of  Louise  de 
Savoie,  far  from  vitiating  the  pure  nature  of  her 
son's  wife,  tended  only  to  strengthen  her  in 
her  own  better  principles ;  and,  like  the  moon, 
which  can  look  down  upon  pollution  without  sully- 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


ing  the  purity  of  its  beams,  so  did  the  unhappy 
young  queen  witness  on  all  sides  the  degrading 
progress  of  licentiousness  without  losing  one  virtue 
or  imbibing  one  vice.  Trained  in  the  most  delicate 
reserve  by  her  mother,  Anne  de  Bretagne,  she  could 
not  condescend  to  pander  to  the  dissipated  tastes 
of  Francis,  who  soon  wearied  of  her  circle,  and 
found  a  fertile  subject  of  sarcasm  in  the  austere 
restraint  to  which  she  subjected  the  ladies  of  her 
suite,  who,  although  they  were  permitted  to  share 
in  the  festivities  of  the  Court,  were  compelled  to 
be  so  guarded  in  their  conduct  and  deportment 
that  they  were  never  sullied  by  its  impurities. 
"  Her  circle,"  says  Brantome,  "  was  a  paradise 
on  earth,  a  school  of  honour  and  virtue,  and  the 
ornament  of  France,  as  foreigners  were  wont  to 
declare  when  they  were  admitted  within  it ;  for  they 
ever  met  a  courteous  reception ;  and  when  they 
were  expected,  it  was  the  queen's  express  cbmmand 
that  her  ladies  should  attire  themselves  richly,  and 
exert  all  their  talents  for  the  entertainment  of  her 
guests  without  absenting  themselves  in  the  pursuit 
of  other  amusements."  It  was  at  Amboise,  on  the 
19th  of  August,  that  the  queen  gave  birth  to  her 
eldest  born,  the  Princesse  Louise,  whose  sex, 
although  doubtless  a  bitter  disappointment  to  both 
parents,  was  not  fated  to  affect  the  interests  of 
the  succession,  as  she  died  in  her  infancy. 

The  first  and  greatest  anxiety  of  Francis  was  the 
recovery  of  the  Milanese,  a  design  which  had  been 
delayed  by  the  death  of  Louis  XII.  ;  and,  in  order 


1 5 15  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  149 

to  supply  the  necessary  funds  for  this  expedition, 
he  was  induced  by  the  advice  of  his  chancellor  to 
renew  all  the  taxes  which  his  predecessor  had 
abolished,  and  even  to  expose  the  offices  of  the 
crown  for  sale ;  thus  endeavouring  to  replenish 
his  treasury  by  the  most  impolitic  and  arbitrary 
measures.  His  claim  to  the  duchy  of  Milan  was 
declared  openly  and  boldly,  as  he  considered  his 
honour  to  be  involved  in  its  recovery.  Louis  XII. 
had  based  his  presumed  right  upon  the  title  of  a 
female,  and  had  transferred  it  to  his  daughter, 
the  Princesse  Claude,  as  a  portion  of  her  dowry ; 
but  Francis,  in  order  to  secure  it  more  effectually, 
caused  his  wife,  as  we  have  already  stated,  to  make 
over  to  him  her  sovereignty  of  the  duchy,  and  thus 
to  enable  him  to  advance  a  personal  and  legitimate 
claim  to  its  possession. 

Charles  of  Austria,  the  sovereign  of  the  Low 
Countries,  at  the  instigation  of  M.  de  Chievres,  his 
governor, — who  was  anxious  to  preserve  a  peace 
with  France  upon  which  the  prosperity  of  Flanders 
was  so  greatly  dependent,  as  well  as  to  secure  to 
his  royal  pupil,  who  was  by  five  years  and  a  half 
the  junior  of  the  French  king,  the  support  of  that 
monarch  against  Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  his  ma- 
ternal grandfather, — had  already  sent  ambassadors 
to  congratulate  him  upon  his  accession,  and  to 
request  his  friendship,  which  was  not  only  accorded, 
but  coupled  with  the  promise  that  Francis  would 
accord  to  him  the  hand  of  his  sister-in-law,  the 
Princesse    Renee.     Her   extreme   youth,   however. 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


— for  at  this  period  she  had  only  just  attained  her 
sixth  year, — rendering  the  immediate  celebration  of 
the  marriage  inexpedient,  it  was  stipulated  between 
the  two  princes  that  the  ceremony  should  be  deferred 
until  she  should  have  reached  the  age  of  twelve  years, 
when  she  was  to  become  the  wife  of  Charles,  with  a 
dowry  of  two  hundred  thousand  silver  crowns  in 
money,  and  the  duchy  of  Berri,  estimated  at  four 
hundred  thousand  more.  A  treaty  of  alliance,  both 
offensive  and  defensive,  was  also  signed  by  the  con- 
tracting parties ;  and  Charles  of  Austria,  although 
numbering  Ferdinand  among  his  allies,  pledged  him- 
self not  to  assist  him  in  any  attempt  which  he  might 
make  against  France,  if  he  did  not,  within  the  space 
of  six  months,  terminate  the  misunderstanding  exist- 
ing between  the  two  Courts  on  the  subject  of  the 
kingdom  of  Navarre.  This  treaty  was  executed 
at  Paris  on  the  24th  of  March. 

The  ostensible  object  of  the  Flemish  envoys 
had  been  merely  to  do  homage  for  the  counties 
of  Artois  and  Flanders,  which  were  held  by  the 
archduke  of  the  crown  of  France ;  and  it  was  so 
far  fortunate  for  Francis  that  they  should  have 
selected  that  precise  period  to  visit  his  Court,  as 
it  rendered  Charles  unable  to  unite  with  the  em- 
peror in  any  designs  which  might  have  proved 
inimical  to  the  French  interest.  The  mission  was 
entrusted  to  Count  Henry  of  Nassau,^  who  arrived 

^  Henry,  Count  of  Nassau,  was  the  representative  of  the  cele- 
brated ducal  family  of  that  name,  which  traced  its  origin  from 
Robert,  Count  of  Larenburg  and  Nassau,  in  1124.  His  descend- 
ants, Waleran  and  Otho,  divided  their  ancestral  patrimony  in  1255. 


1515  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  151 

at  Paris  splendidly  attended,  having  both  nobles 
and  prelates  in  his  train,  and  it  was  through  his 
agency  that  the  archduke,  who  had  already  been 
affianced  to  half  the  princesses  of  the  civilized  world, 
was  once  more  engaged  in  the  matrimonial  com- 
pact, destined,  like  so  many  others,  never  to  be 
ratified.  Moreover,  it  is  probable  that  Francis 
himself  never  contemplated  its  completion,  while 
it  is  certain  that  the  ministers  of  the  young  prince 
had  been  urged  to  effect  a  friendly  alliance  with 
France  from  their  suspicion  that  Ferdinand  the 
Catholic  purposed  to  bequeath  the  crown  of  Spain 
to  his  other  grandson  and  namesake,  who  had  been 
educated  in  that  country ;  while  Charles,  who  had 
passed  his  youth  between  Germany  and  the  Low 
Countries,  was  comparatively  unknown  to  him. 

Nor  was  the  errand  of  M.  de  Nassau  destined 
to  be  a  bootless  one  for  himself,  it  being  secretly 
stipulated  that  he  should  receive  the  hand  of 
Claudine  de  Challon,  sister  of  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
who  had  been  educated  with  the  young  Queen  of 
France ;  and  the  marriage  was  accordingly  cele- 
brated with  a  magnificence  worthy  of  so  renowned 
a  Court. 

The  state  of  Europe  at  this  time  offered  nothing 

From  the  former  are  descended  the  present  reigning  Dukes  of  Nas- 
sau ;  while  the  latter  founded  the  branch  of  Nassau-Dillenbourg, 
now  on  the  throne  of  Holland.  By  the  marriage  of  Henry  of  Nas- 
sau, son  of  Count  William  III.,  with  Claudine  de  Challon,  Princess 
of  Orange,  that  principality  devolved  upon  their  son  Rene,  who, 
dying  without  issue,  bequeathed  it  to  William  the  Taciturn,  his 
cousin,  who  thus  became  the  ancestor  of  the  Princes  of  Orange- 
Nassau,  whose  descendants  occupy  the  thrones  of  England  and 
Holland. 


152  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

sufficiently  alarming  to  induce  the  young  king  to 
abandon  his  design  upon  the  Milanese.  Spain  was 
for  the  moment  tranquil.  The  death  of  the  Arch- 
duke Philip  had  restored  to  Ferdinand  his  dominion 
over  Castile ;  while  his  title  to  Naples,  Roussillon, 
and  Cerdagne  was  not  sufficiently  valid  to  enable 
him  to  take  the  initiative  with  safety  in  any  aggres- 
sive measures  towards  France.  Germany  was  also 
at  peace,  and  so  divided  and  subdivided  into  petty 
and  independent  states,  as  well  as  kept  in  check 
by  the  moral  and  commercial  strength  of  her  free 
towns  and  the  impotence  of  her  emperor, — who, 
although  the  head  of  the  Germanic  body,  by  which, 
in  the  national  diets,  the  laws  were  passed,  was  a 
mere  shadow-king,  despised  both  at  home  and 
abroad, — that  she  was  in  no  condition  to  volunteer 
a  war  of  which  the  issue,  under  such  circumstances, 
must  at  the  best  be  doubtful ;  while  England,  who 
had  upon  Flodden  Field  delivered  herself  from  her 
most  threatening  and  mischievous  enemy,  had 
already  gained  sufficient  experience  of  the  bad 
faith  and  perfidious  vacillation  of  both  Maximilian 
and  Ferdinand  to  induce  Henry  VIII.  to  shun  any 
alliance  with  either  against  the  interests  of  Francis, 
who,  in  the  late  negotiations  between  them,  had 
won  his  goodwill  alike  by  his  frankness  and 
courtesy. 

Thus  the  Pope  and  the  Swiss  were  the  only  for- 
midable enemies  against  whom  the  young  monarch 
of  France  could  be  called  upon  to  contend  ;  and  the 
arrival  of  the  several  embassies  to  compliment  him 


15 15  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  153 

upon  his  accession  afforded  a  favourable  opportunity 
for  consolidating  his  friendly  relations  with  such  of 
the  different  powers  as  were  already  on  terms  of 
amity  with  France ;  and  also  of  ascertaining,  and 
providing  against,  the  possible  hostility  of  those 
whose  alliance  was  still  doubtful. 

To  the  English  envoys  he  suggested  that  the 
treaty  of  peace  concluded  "between  Louis  XII.  and 
Henry  VIII.  should  be  renewed,  and  that  Scotland, 
did  the  necessity  arise,  should  be  included  in  the 
negotiations ;  that  the  most  perfect  liberty  of  com- 
merce should  be  assured  to  both  nations ;  that  no 
vessel  of  war  intended  to  threaten  either  should  be 
admitted  into  any  of  the  ports  of  the  other  kingdom  ; 
and  that  they  should  mutually  respect  each  other  s 
allies  ;  but  that  Milan  and  Genoa,  which  Francis  was 
about  to  invade,  should  be  exempted  from  this 
arrangement.  To  all  these  conditions  Henry  ac- 
ceded at  once,  with  the  exception  of  that  which 
concerned  Scotland,  the  jealousy  of  the  English 
monarch  being  awakened  by  the  circumstance  that 
the  Due  d'Aubigny,^  the  cousin  of  the  late  King  of 
Scots,  and  the  subject  of  Francis,  had  been  invited 
thither  as  regent.  He  accordingly  called  upon  the 
young  sovereign  to  pledge  himself  that  D'Aubigny, 
who  was  well  known  to  be  inimical  to  the  English 
interests,  should  abandon  his  intention  of  visiting 
Scotland ;  and  declared  that  should  this  concession 

1  Robert  d'Aubigny  was  of  Scotch  extraction,  and  of  the  family  of 
Stuart,  but  was  by  birth  a  French  subject,  and  commanded  the  com- 
pany of  Scotch  gendarmes  who  were  perpetually  about  the  person  of 
the  monarch,  and  who  possessed  extraordinary  privileges. 


154  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

be  made,  he  would  at  once  affix  his  signature  to 
the  treaty.  Francis,  however,  would  not  consent 
to  withdraw  his  plighted  word  to  the  Scotch ;  but 
offered  himself  as  surety  for  the  loyalty  of  his  general, 
and  agreed  that  if  in  the  space  of  three  months 
D'Aubigny  did  not  succeed  in  reconciling  the  adverse 
factions  he  should  be  recalled. 

Henry  accepted  the  offered  terms,  and  the  treaty 
was  concluded  in  the  month  of  April. 

The  Swiss  cantons,  excepting  only  the  Grisons, 
still  maintained  their  hostile  position  towards  France. 
During  the  reigns  of  Louis  XI.  and  Charles  VIII. 
they  had  considered  themselves  as  an  integral  por- 
tion of  the  French  armies,  and  had  conduced,  in  no 
trifling  degree,  to  their  success  in  the  field.  Even 
under  Louis  XII.  they  had  done  good  service,  and 
proved  their  efficiency ;  while  the  benefit  was  ren- 
dered mutual  by  the  fact  that  the  poverty  of  their 
over-populated  country  was  lessened  by  the  escape- 
valve  thus  afforded,  and  that  support  and  employment 
were  obtained  for  considerable  bodies  of  men  who 
must  otherwise  have  diminished  its  already  scanty 
resources.  Conscious  of  their  importance  in  Euro- 
pean warfare  from  their  high  state  of  discipline  and 
undaunted  courage,  the  Switzers  had,  however,  by 
presuming  upon  these  advantages,  excited  the  indig- 
nation of  Louis  XII.,  who,  anxious  to  emancipate 
himself  from  pretensions  and  demands  which  ulti- 
mately exceeded  all  due  bounds,  declined  their 
further  assistance,  and  substituted  for  them  a  large 
body  of  German  infantry,  or  lansquenets,  who,  while 


1515  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  155 

they  were  utterly  free  from  the  Insolence  and  way- 
wardness of  the  Swiss,  were  from  the  first  their 
equals  in  courage,  and  soon  worthily  rivalled  them 
both  in  order  and  discipline.  This  was  at  once  an 
affront  to  the  honour  and  an  injury  to  the  interests 
of  the  mountaineers,  which  they  vowed  never  to 
forgive.  They  forgot  that  even  if  they  had  twice 
assisted  the  French  king  to  subdue  Italy  they  had 
twice  also,  in  order  to  gratify  their  own  dislike,  lent 
their  aid  to  divest  him  of  his  conquest ;  and  although 
they  had  amply  revenged  their  supposed  wrongs  both 
at  Novara  and  Dijon,  they  bore  in  remembrance  only 
the  refusal  of  Louis  to  ratify  the  treaty  of  La  Tre- 
mouille,  and  suffered  the  relentless  Cardinal  of  Sion 
to  keep  them  in  a  state  of  perpetual  and  unyielding 
animosity  to  France.  Thus  the  attitude  which  they 
assumed  could  not  be  utterly  disregarded  by  Francis, 
although,  with  the  chivalrous  feeling  natural  to  him, 
he  looked  upon  them  with  contempt  as  mere  mercen- 
aries, and  did  not  suffer  their  demonstrations  to 
interfere  with  his  darling  project ;  although  he 
deemed  it  expedient  to  make  an  effort  to  regain  their 
alliance,  and  accordingly  sent  the  Sire  de  Jamets, 
one  of  the  sons  of  Robert  de  la  Mark,  as  his  envoy 
to  the  diet  of  the  cantons,  in  order  that  an  accom- 
modation might  if  possible  be  effected  with  them,  and 
the  differences  adjusted  which  had  arisen  out  of  the 
non-fulfilment  of  the  treaty  of  Dijon.  This  conces- 
sion was,  however,  far  from  conducing  to  the  object 
which  he  had  in  view.  Rendered  insolent  by  their 
recent  successes,  the  Swiss  ascribed  to  fear  an  over- 


156  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

ture  which  had  been  dictated  simply  by  policy,  and 
arrogantly  refused  to  admit  the  envoy  of  France ; 
threatening,  moreover,  that  if  the  conditions  of  that 
treaty  were  not  immediately  performed  to  the  letter, 
they  would  forthwith  invade  the  provinces  of  Bur- 
gundy and  Dauphiny. 

Francis  treated  the  insolent  menace  with  con- 
tempt, and  contented  himself  with  marching  a 
strong  body  both  of  native  and  foreign  troops 
towards  Burgundy,  —  ostensibly  to  defend  that 
province  from  aggression,  but  actually  to  bring 
them  nearer  to  the  point  where  they  were  to  be 
employed. 

Consequently  this  movement,  ominous  as  it  was, 
created  no  alarm  either  in  the  Pope  or  the  Italian 
states  which  were  in  his  interest.  They  looked  upon 
the  French  king  as  a  mere  youth,  devoted  to  pleasure, 
who  would  not  hazard  an  encounter  with  the  papal 
forces  ;  nor  could  even  the  representations  of  Fer- 
dinand induce  them  to  alter  their  opinion.  In  vain 
did  he  represent  that  Francis  had  suggested  a  treaty 
with  himself  and  Maximilian,  which  had  failed  to  take 
effect  owing  to  the  refusal  of  the  young  monarch  to 
forego  his  claim  upon  the  Milanese,  and  that  he  had 
already  confirmed  that  which  Louis  XII.  had  for- 
merly made  with  the  Venetians.  Leo.  X.  disregarded 
the  caution,  and  even  declined  to  join  a  league  which 
had  been  secretly  formed  between  Maximilian,  Fer- 
dinand, the  Swiss,  and  the  Duke  of  Milan,  for  the 
defence  of  Italy  ;  declaring  that  he  was  urged  by  his 
holy  office  to  promote  peace  rather  than  war,  and 


15 1 5  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  157 

would  not  provoke,  or  even  appear  to  anticipate, 
hostilities  from  any  European  power. 

In  confirming  the  treaty  with  the  Venetians  to 
which  Ferdinand  had  alluded,  Francis  had  secretly 
induced  Ottavio  Fregosa,  the  Doge  of  Genoa,  to  give 
a  pledge  that  he  would  abdicate,  and  place  himself 
under  the  protection  of  France,  whenever  the  pre- 
sence of  a  French  army  sufficiently  strong  to  protect 
him  from  the  indignation  of  the  other  powers  should 
be  assembled  in  Italy  ;  a  promise  which  the  young 
king  hailed  with  joy,  as  Genoa  commanded  the  pas- 
sage into  the  Milanese  by  sea,  and  was  consequently 
of  great  importance  to  his  design.  This  done,  he 
pursued  his  negotiation  with  the  Pope,  who  at  length 
consented  to  remain  neuter ;  but  who,  at  the  same 
time,  entered  into  an  engagement  with  Maximilian, 
Ferdinand,  and  the  Swiss,  to  assist  them  in  protect- 
ing the  duchy  of  Milan. 

In  the  meantime  Francis  had  continued  quietly 
but  diligently  to  strengthen  the  forces  requisite  for 
his  intended  expedition.  While  he  himself  left  Paris 
and  took  up  his  abode  at  Amboise,  his  army  was 
gradually  advancing  to  the  frontiers  of  Dauphiny. 
It  consisted  of  a  band  of  ten  thousand  lansquenets, 
raised  in  Germany  by  the  Sire  de  Sedan  and  the 
Duke  of  Suffolk  ;  six  thousand  foot,  furnished  by  the 
Due  de  Gueldres ;  and  a  like  number  levied  in  Gas- 
cony  and  Languedoc  by  Pietro  da  Navarro,  whom 
the  ingratitude  and  bad  faith  of  the  King  of  Spain 
had  driven  into  the  service  of  France  ;  four  thousand 
volunteers  :  two  thousand  five  hundred  lances  ;  and  a 


IS8  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vi 

Strong  body  of  artillery,  which  had  already  been  sent 
forward  to  Lyons,  composing  altogether  an  army  of 
between  thirty  and  forty  thousand  men. 

While  this  force  was  unostentatiously  in  progress 
of  organization,  Francis — who,  however  little  he 
deprecated  the  hostility  of  the  Pope,  whom  he  knew 
to  be  more  occupied  in  the  aggrandisement  of  his 
family  than  in  that  of  his  states,  thought  it  wise  to 
conciliate  his  alliance — sent  an  embassy  to  Rome  to 
open  a  negotiation  between  them,  which  he  entrusted 
to  Guillaume  Budee,^  the  contemporary  and  friend  of 
Erasmus,  and  one  of  the  most  accomplished  scholars 
in  France.  Already  aware  of  the  particular  ambition 
of  Leo  X.,  who  was  anxious  to  secure  the  supreme 
rule  in  Florence  to  his  nephew  Lorenzo  de  Medici, 
and  to  his  brother  Giulio  a  principality  compounded 
of  the  states  which  his  predecessor  Julius  II.  had 
wrested  from  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  and  the  Milanese, 
Budee  offered  on  the  part  of  his  royal  master  to  assist 
his  holiness  in  effecting  the  marriage  between  his 
brother  Giulio  and  Marguerite  de  Savoie,  the  aunt 
of  the  French  king,  which  had  already  been  mooted, 
and  which  must  have  tended  to  convert  the  two  sove- 
reigns into  firm  allies  ;  but  the  Pope  could  not  wil- 
lingly resign  his  own  darling  scheme,  and  amiable 
and  learned  as  he  was,  and  fully  competent  to  appre- 

1  Guillaume  Bud^e  was  born  in  Paris  in  1467,  and  distinguished 
himself  by  his  extraordinary  attainments.  He  was  Master  of  the 
Court  of  Requests,  and  librarian  to  the  king,  and  was  remarkable 
for  his  proficiency  in  the  classics  and  archaeology.  His  most  cele- 
brated work  among  students  is  his  treatise  De  Asse  et  partibus  ejus, 
which  was  published  at  Venice  in  1522.  It  was  at  his  instigation 
that  Francis  I.  founded  the  College  of  France.      He  died  in  1540. 


151 5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  159 

ciate  the  compliment  paid  to  him  by  Francis  in  the 
person  and  through  the  medium  of  so  celebrated  an 
ambassador,  he  was  nevertheless  possessed  of  all  the 
craft  peculiar  to  his  nation,  and  hesitated  between 
this  amicable  proposition  and  that  of  Maximilian  and 
Ferdinand,  which  he  believed  would  be  ultimately 
more  advantageous  to  his  house.  He  consequently 
amused  Budee  for  a  time  with  objections,  exactions, 
and  mystifications  so  obviously  unmeaning  and  insin- 
cere, that  the  frank  and  straightforward  scholar  at 
length  resolved  to  request  his  recall ;  alleging  that  he 
was  unable  to  cope  with  the  diplomatic  cunning  of 
the  sovereign  -  pontiff,  and  humbly  praying  his 
majesty  to  release  him  from  a  responsibility  to  which 
he  was  unequal.  He  was,  however,  instructed  to 
remain  at  the  papal  Court,  and  to  continue  the 
negotiation,  whatever  might  be  its  probable  issue,  in 
order  to  divert  the  attention  of  Leo  from  an  intrigue 
in  which  his  interests  were  involved,  and  which  was 
then  pending. 


CHAPTER   VII 

Francis  organizes  his  army — The  queen's  farewell  reception — Magnificence  of 
Bourbon — Emotion  of  Marguerite  de  Valois — ^Jealousy  of  Bonnivet — 
Their  parting — Indiscretion  of  Bonnivet — Difficulty  in  replenishing  the 
treasury — Discontent  of  the  Parliament  —  Madame  d'Angouleme  ap- 
pointed regent — Character  of  Louise  de  Savoie — Amount  of  the  French 
army — Its  distribution — Difficulty  in  passing  the  Alps — Perseverance  of 
the  troops — The  vanguard  enters  Italy — Surprise  of  Prosper  Colonna — 
His  capture — Delivers  his  sword  to  Bayard — Alessandria  and  Tortona 
taken  by  the  French — Alarm  of  the  Pope — Retreat  of  the  Swiss — Francis 
endeavours  to  conciliate  them,  but  fails  through  the  agency  of  the  Car- 
dinal of  Sion — The  Swiss  troops  attempt  to  seize  the  public  chest  at 
Buffaloro — Their  leaders  apprise  Lautrec  of  the  project — They  evacuate 
Italy — Bayard  solicits  the  king's  permission  to  attack  the  enemy,  but  is 
refused — Francis  marches  upon  Turin — He  is  joined  by  the  Due  de 
Gueldres — The  French  headquarters  are  established  at  Marignano — Car- 
dona  refuses  to  pass  the  Po — D'Alviano  reaches  Lodi — Indignation  of 
Francis  against  the  Swiss — The  Cardinal  of  Sion  harangues  the  mer- 
cenary troops — Fleuranges  alarms  the  garrison — The  Swiss  troops  march 
upon  Marignano — The  king  is  apprised  of  their  approach — Battle  of 
Marignano — Francis  narrowly  escapes  capture — Bayard  is  unhorsed,  but 
effects  his  retreat — The  battle-couch  of  Francis — The  attack  is  resumed 
at  daybreak — The  Swiss  troops  retreat,  and  return  to  Milan,  whence 
they  proceed  homeward,  pursued  by  D'Alviano — The  price  of  victory — 
Francis  receives  knighthood  on  the  field  at  the  hands  of  Bayard,  and 
confers  it  upon  Fleuranges — The  French  march  to  Milan — The  Swiss 
revolt  against  the  Cardinal  of  Sion,  who  secures  his  safety  by  flight — 
Reception  of  the  French  king  by  the  citizens  of  Milan — Maximilian 
Sforza  surrenders  to  Francis — Generosity  of  the  conqueror — The  Milanese 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  France. 

Meanwhile  the  warlike  preparations  of  Francis 
were  completed,  and  he  formally  assisted  the  queen 
and  his  mother  to  receive  at  Amboise  the  parting 
compliments  of  his  generals  in  the  presence  of  the 
whole   Court.     The  queen   had  a  public  reception 


1515  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I  i6i 

on  the  day  upon  which  the  Connetable  Due  de 
Bourbon,  who  was  to  take  the  chief  command  of 
the  invading  army,  arrived  at  the  castle.  His  ad- 
vent had  been  already  announced,  and  it  chanced 
that,  either  by  accident  or  design,  the  Duchesse 
d'Alen^on,  who  had  accompanied  her  husband  to 
the  castle,  there  to  remain  while  he  was  absent 
with  the  king  in  Italy,  was  standing  in  the  deep 
bay  of  a  window  in  the  apartment  of  her  royal 
sister-in-law,  conversing  with  some  of  the  courtiers, 
at  the  moment  when  the  connetable  galloped  into 
the  courtyard,  attended  by  an  escort  of  gentlemen 
and  pages  very  richly  attired.  At  the  noise  made 
by  the  horsemen  every  eye  was  turned  upon  the 
brilliant  spectacle  which  thus  suddenly  presented 
itself,  and  was  instantly  riveted  on  the  person  of 
Bourbon  himself.  He  was  attired  for  war,  and 
wore  over  his  mail  a  sash  of  cloth  of  silver ;  a 
diamond-studded  poniard  flashed  in  his  belt  beside 
the  golden  pommel  of  his  sword,  and  his  casque 
was  surmounted  by  a  plume  of  white  and  crimson 
feathers.  In  such  a  costume  the  fine  person  of  the 
duke  was  necessarily  more  than  usually  striking, 
and  the  beautiful  sister  of  Francis,  after  gazing  for 
an  instant,  like  those  around  her,  upon  the  majestic 
and  noble  figure  of  the  only  man  whom  she  had 
ever  loved,  turned  away  with  a  shuddering  sigh, 
and  involuntarily  glanced  with  a  look  of  superb 
contempt  upon  the  insignificant  prince  to  whom 
the  policy  of  her  uncle  Louis  XII.  had  given  her 
unwilling  hand. 

VOL.  I  II 


i62  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

Neither  the  sigh,  the  shudder,  nor  the  glance, 
brief  as  each  had  been  in  its  duration,  had,  despite 
all  her  caution,  passed  unobserved.  Among  those 
immediately  about  her  was  Bonnivet,  who  had 
neither  forgiven  nor  forgotten  the  past,  and  whose 
jealousy  of  Bourbon  continued  as  lively  as  ever, 
although  the  marriage  of  the  duchess  had  rendered 
the  suit  of  both  alike  hopeless.  A  bitter  whisper 
reached  her  ear.  "  Monsieur  le  Connetable,"  said 
the  voice,  "  whose  haughty  spirit  has  become  a 
proverb  throughout  the  country,  might  to-day  be 
pardoned  his  presumption  were  he  to  learn  the 
effect  produced  by  his  arrival." 

Marguerite  blushed  deeply,  frowned  haughtily, 
and  turned  away ;  but  the  arrow  had  stricken  home, 
and  she  could  not  encounter  the  mocking  eye  that 
she  felt  was  turned  upon  her. 

By  this  time  the  connetable  had  ascended  the 
great  staircase,  had  been  announced  by  the  usher 
on  duty,  and  had  entered  the  royal  apartment,  still 
attended  by  the  gentlemen  of  his  suite,  superbly 
attired  in  vests  of  velvet  heavily  embroidered  with 
gold.  It  was  now  the  king's  turn  to  frown.  It  was 
true  that,  by  his  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  Anne 
de  France,  Bourbon  had  become  the  most  wealthy 
as  well  as  the  most  powerful  noble  of  the  kingdom, 
but  Francis  could  not  endure  that  his  own  magnifi- 
cence should  be  eclipsed  by  that  of  a  subject,  and 
his  reception  was  more  chilling  than  the  occasion 
seemed  to  warrant.  The  duke  did  not,  however, 
appear  to  remark  the  discomposure  of  his  sovereign, 


IL  _^ 


^> 


.^ 


MAM(S-AIR]S1C  ]D)I1   VAIL(0)nS. 


ENGR6VED  BV   S  FRT-TMAN,  FROM  A  PORTKAIT  PDHUSHBT  IN   NIEL'S 
"llXTTSTRES  FRAJJCAIS  DU  16"  SlEC'liE' 


15 1 5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  163 

and  the  warm  greeting  of  Madame  d'Angouleme, 
who  was  by  no  means  insensible  to  the  attractions 
of  her  new  guest,  was  returned  with  grace  and 
composure.  Nor  did  even  the  stately  coldness  of 
the  Duchesse  d'Alencon  bring  a  shade  upon  the 
brow  of  Charles  de  Bourbon.  He  could  appreciate 
her  real  feelings,  for  he  judged  them  by  his  own  ; 
and  as  he  raised  her  fingers  respectfully  to  his  lips 
he  did  not  detain  them  there  a  moment. 

Bonnivet,  however,  who  had  watched  both  parties 
closely,  was  not  to  be  deceived.  He  had  marked 
the  slight  flush  which  mounted  to  the  brow  of  the 
duke,  and  the  deadly  paleness  that  had  overspread 
the  features  of  the  princess ;  and  as,  after  this  act 
of  homage,  Bourbon  moved  away  to  join  the  circle 
which  was  formed  about  the  king,  he  turned  to  the 
Comte  de  Saint  Valier,  the  captain  of  the  royal 
guard,  and,  in  a  tone  of  mysterious  confidence,  bade 
him  remark  the  agitation  of  Madame  d'Angouleme 
and  the  constraint  of  her  daughter. 

"It  is  sufficiently  evident,"  was  the  reply;  "but 
why  do  you  draw  my  attention  to  the  circumstance  ?" 

"  To  initiate  you  into  a  state  secret.  The  mother 
and  the  daughter  have  the  same  passion  in  their 
hearts." 

The  quick-sighted  Bonnivet  was  correct  in  his 
conjecture,  but  he  was  unable  to  discriminate  the 
very  different  nature  of  the  passion  which  Bourbon 
had  awakened  in  the  breasts  of  those  two  royal 
ladies.  The  love  of  Louise  de  Savoie  for  the  gal- 
lant and  handsome  prince  was,  like  all   her  other 


l64  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

attachments,  alike  sensual  and  selfish,  while  that 
of  Marguerite  was  an  affection  compounded  of 
memory,  regret,  and  self-pity,  without  one  stain  of 
earth.  The  duke  had  been  the  first  love  of  her 
girlhood,  and  had  peopled  the  past  with  associa- 
tions of  happiness  and  hope,  both  of  which  had 
proved  fallacious,  but  were  still  dear.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  errors  of  Marguerite,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  she  loved  Bourbon  well  and  worthily,  with 
that  womanly  affection  which  forgets  self  in  the 
object  beloved,  and  can  endure  in  all  its  intensity 
alike  through  time  and  trial. 

In  the  utterance  of  her  murmured  farewell  to  the 
brilliant  connetable  the  Duchesse  d'Alengon  had 
exhausted  all  her  regrets,  and  it  was  with  courteous 
composure  that  she  afterwards  received  the  parting 
compliments  of  Francois,  Due  de  Chatellerault,  his 
brother ;  the  Marechals  de  la  Palice  and  Trivulzio  ; 
the  Dues  de  Lorraine,  Vendome,  Gueldres,  and 
D'Aubigny  ;  the  Bastard  of  Savoy,  the  king's  uncle,^ 

1  Rend,  the  Bastard  of  Savoy,  was  the  son  of  Philip  of  Savoy 
and  Bona  da  Romagnano,  a  Piedmontese  lady,  and  the  brother  of 
Charles  III.  and  Madame  d'Angouleme,  and  had  been  legitimized  by 
the  Duke  Philibert,  who  married  Margaret  of  Austria,  the  daughter 
of  the  emperor.  Maximilian  having,  however,  refused  to  ratify  his 
legitimization,  Rdne  accused  Margaret  of  having  privately  instigated 
him  to  do  so,  and,  indignant  at  the  affront  put  upon  him,  abandoned 
the  Court  of  Savoy,  and  withdrew  to  the  castle  of  Amboise,  where 
he  resided  with  his  sister,  Madame  d'Angouleme,  and  obtained  great 
influence  over  Francis  I.  Whether  his  suspicion  were  well  or  ill 
founded,  it  is  certain  that  the  hatred  which  Margaret  felt  for  him 
caused  as  much  injury  to  Savoy  as  that  of  Madame  d'Angouleme 
against  the  Connetable  de  Bourbon  occasioned  to  France.  "  Through 
Margaret  of  Austria,  the  wife  of  the  duke,"  says  the  President 
Renault,  "  commenced  that  hatred  which  has  perpetuated  itself 
between  the  houses  of  France  and  Austria."     The  fact  is,  however, 


1515  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  165. 

the  veteran  Louis  de  Breze,  Grand  Senechal  of 
Normandy ;  the  Comtes  de  Saint-Pol  and  Guise  ; 
La  Tremouille,  and  his  son  the  Prince  de  Talmont, 
Imbercourt,  Teligny,  Beam,  Sancerre,  Orval,  Lau- 
trec,  Bayard,  and,  in  fine,  all  that  was  noble  and 
chivalrous  in  France. 

The  necessity  of  raising  money  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  so  formidable  an  undertaking  as  the 
recovery  of  the  Milanese  was  the  first  difficulty  to 
which  Francis  had  been  exposed  since  his  accession 
to  the  throne,  and  it  is  probable  that,  at  so  im- 
portant a  moment,  he  regretted  the  immense  sums 
which  had  been  wasted  upon  mere  courtly  magnifi- 
cence ;  but  Duprat,  equal  to  every  emergency,  at 
once  suggested  the  dangerous  and  impolitic  mea- 
sure of  increasing  the  number  of  judicial  offices  for 
sale.  The  young  king,  eager  to  carry  out  his  plans, 
thoughtlessly  welcomed  the  suggestion,  and  a  new 
chamber  of  parliament  was  created,  consisting  of 
twenty  councillors,  all  of  whom  purchased  their 
places ;  while  the  provincial  courts  throughout  the 
kingdom  were   augmented    in    the    same    manner. 

doubtful,  for  the  feelings  of  the  emperor  her  father  had  been  for 
years  quite  as  hostile  as  her  own ;  and  it  is  asserted  that  he  every 
day  nourished  them  by  a  perusal  of  what  he  entitled  his  red  book, 
which  was  simply  a  register  of  all  the  real  or  imaginary  wrongs  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected  by  France,  and  which  yet  remained  un- 
avenged, not  the  least  being  the  humiliation  to  which  his  daughter 
had  been  exposed  when  her  hand  was  refused  by  Charles  VIII. 
R^ne  strikingly  resembled  his  father.  His  form  was  athletic,  and 
his  countenance  fine  and  commanding.  He  was  a  brave  soldier, 
but  both  haughty  and  vindictive.  Francis  I.,  his  nephew,  made 
him  Comptroller  of  the  Household.  He  was  taken  prisoner  at 
Pavia,  and  died  of  his  wounds.  From  him  is  derived  the  family 
of  Villars. 


i66  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

For  a  time  the  parliament  of  Paris  refused  to  sanc- 
tion so  glaring  an  innovation  upon  their  rights,  and 
declined  to  register  the  royal  edict ;  nor  was  it 
without  considerable  and  avowed  reluctance  that 
they  were  ultimately  induced  to  do  so,  the  measure 
being  regarded  as  one  of  great  injustice  and  im- 
policy, tending  to  diminish  the  national  confidence 
in  the  monarch,  and  to  excite  distrust  towards  the 
minister  by  whom  it  had  been  proposed. 

Their  objections  were,  however,  disregarded, 
and  Francis,  satisfied  that  he  was  about  to  place 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  finest  army  which  had 
ever  been  raised  in  France,  made  instant  prepara- 
tions for  crossing  the  Alps.  The  number  and 
resources  of  his  enemies,  concentrated  by  the 
powerful  confederacy  formed  against  him  by  Maxi- 
milian, Leo  X.,  and  the  Swiss,  served  only  to 
stimulate  his  ardour;  and  on  the  15th  of  July,  at 
Lyons,  he  issued  an  ordinance,  by  which  he  ap- 
pointed his  mother,  the  Duchesse  d'Angouleme, 
regent  of  the  kingdom  during  his  absence.  "Con- 
sidering," thus  ran  the  document,  "  that  it  will  be 
necessary  to  leave  in  our  kingdom  some  personage 
representing  ourselves,  whose  affection  towards  our 
person  is  undoubted,  and  to  whom  our  subjects  may 
have  recourse  as  to  ourselves  ;  considering  also  that 
all  the  princes  and  nobles  of  our  blood  accompany 
us  on  our  enterprise, — we  have  decided  to  confide 
this  charge  and  power  to  our  very  dear  and  well- 
beloved  lady  and  mother,  the  Duchesse  d'Angou- 
leme and   d'Anjou,  as  to  the  person   in  whom  we 


IS  15  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  167 

have  full  and  perfect  confidence,  and  of  whom  we 
know,  for  a  surety,  that  she  will  wisely  and  virtu- 
ously acquit  herself  of  the  same." 

In  how  far  Francis  could  answer  to  his  conscience 
for  such  a  declaration  it  is  not  for  us  to  decide. 
Certain  it  is  that  the  overweening  indulgence  and 
undiminished  influence  of  his  mother  may  have 
blinded  him  in  a  great  degree  to  her  defects,  but 
it  is  no  less  true  that  he  possessed  sufficient  shrewd- 
ness and  discrimination  to  be  aware  that,  with  so 
vehement  and  vindictive  a  character  as  hers,  there 
was  not  that  perfect  assurance  for  his  subjects  which 
his  words  were  intended  to  convey. 

Although,  upon  the  accession  of  her  son,  she  had 
reached  her  fortieth  year,  Louise  de  Savoie  was  still 
one  of  the  handsomest  women  at  Court.  The  pecu- 
liar charms  of  her  face  and  person  were  scarcely 
diminished  by  time,  and  she  possessed,  physically, 
all  the  elements  of  popularity.  She  was,  moreover, 
eminently  qualified  for  government  in  so  far  that  she 
did  not  lack  courage,  either  personal  or  political,  and 
was  gifted  with  penetration,  decision,  and  a  self- 
possession  which  no  adversity  could  shake ;  but 
these  essential  qualities  were  counterbalanced  by 
an  ambition  and  thirst  of  power  absolutely  insati- 
able, while  her  better  reason  was  frequently  over- 
whelmed by  the  impetuous  torrent  of  her  passions  ; 
a  circumstance  which  sullied  her  administration  with 
all  the  faults  and  weaknesses  of  her  sex.  Greedy 
of  admiration,  and  vain  to  an  inordinate  excess,  she 
was  at  the  same  time  a  bitter  enemy,  implacable  in 


i68  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

her  resentments,  impatient  of  control,  actuated  by 
the  most  malign  jealousy,  and  covetous  of  the 
national  treasures  to  such  an  extent  that  the  wisest 
projects  were  disconcerted,  and  the  most  important 
enterprises  baffled,  by  her  insatiate  rapacity. 

The  regency  being  thus  definitely  arranged, 
Francis  turned  his  whole  attention  to  the  organ- 
ization and  distribution  of  his  army,  which,  after 
the  new  levies  were  completed,  consisted  of  two 
thousand  five  hundred  men-at-arms  ;  amounting,  in 
fact,  from  the  peculiar  constitution  of  the  "lances," 
as  they  were  then  termed,  to  a  force  of  nearly  fifteen 
thousand  horse,  each  member  of  the  compagnies 
d'ordonna7tce,  or  regular  cavalry,  having  in  imme- 
diate attendance  upon  him  three  archers,  an  esquire, 
or  knife-bearer,  whose  name  was  derived  from  a 
short  dirk  which  he  carried  in  his  belt,  and  a  page, 
the  whole  of  whom  were  mounted ;  and  thus  fifteen 
hundred  "lances,"  fully  equipped,  comprised  a 
strength  of  nine  thousand  horse ;  while  in  addition 
to  this  conventional  suite,  they  were  generally  ac- 
companied by  a  strong  body  of  volunteers,  similarly 
followed,  who  served  without  remuneration  of  any 
kind,  and  who  were  invariably  individuals  of  good 
family,  like  the  gendarmes  themselves,  and  fre- 
quently entered  the  regular  army  after  having  gone 
through  a  campaign  upon  their  own  resources. 

The  command  of  the  vanguard  was  confided  to 
the  Conndtable  de  Bourbon,  and  in  it  were  to  serve 
his  brother  the  Due  de  Chatellerault,  La  Palice, 
Trivulzio,    Talmond,    Bonnivet,     Imbercourt,    and 


1515  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  169 

Teligny ;  while  Pietro  da  Navarro,  with  his  Gas- 
cons, Basques,  and  pioneers,  was  also  attached  to 
this  division  of  the  army.  The  rear-guard  was 
committed  to  the  Due  d'Alen9on,  the  husband  of 
Marguerite,  and  the  king  himself  commanded  the 
main  body  or  "  battle,"  having  about  his  person  the 
Dues  de  Vendome  and  Lorraine,  the  Seigneur 
d'Aubigny,  the  Bastard  of  Savoy,  the  Sire  d'Orval, 
La  Tremouille,  Lautrec,  recently  advanced  to  the 
rank  of  Marshal  of  France,  Bayard,  newly  ap- 
pointed Lieutenant-general  of  Dauphiny,  the  Due 
de  Gueldres,  and  Claude  de  Guise. 

But  when  this  powerful  army,  amounting  in  the 
aggregate  to  upwards  of  forty  thousand  men,  with  a 
strong  train  of  artillery,  was  completed,  the  greatest 
difficulty  was  yet  to  be  surmounted  by  accomplishing 
its  passage  into  Italy.  The  month  of  August  had 
arrived,  the  snow  had  dissolved  in  the  mountain 
gorges,  it  is  true,  but  some  unforeseen  circumstance 
might  impede  the  march,  and  subject  the  troops  to 
a  scarcity  of  provisions,  while  it  was  moreover 
imperative  that  they  should  penetrate  into  the 
Milanese  before  the  rainy  season  set  in.  "  A  safe 
but  circuitous  route  presented  itself,"  says  Bacon, 
"  by  which  one  part  of  the  army  might  penetrate  to 
Savona,  and  the  other  might  march  by  the  county 
of  Tende  towards  Montferrat ;  but  the  delay  which 
would  ensue  rendered  this  plan  ineligible."  The 
passes  between  Mont  Cenis  and  Mont  Genievre 
were  so  strongly  guarded  by  the  Swiss  as  to  render 
it  highly  inexpedient  to  expose  the  army   to   the 


I70  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

inevitable  losses  which  must  accrue  from  any 
attempt  to  force  them,  and  thus  weaken  its  re- 
sources ;  and  consequently  great  doubt  existed  as 
to  the  practicability  of  making  good  the  passage 
of  horsemen  and  ordnance  across  the  Alps.  The 
difficulty  was,  however,  happily  overcome  by  the 
proposal  of  a  Piedmontese  peasant,  a  vassal  of  the 
Comte  de  Moreto,  the  cousin  of  Bayard — whose 
perfect  acquaintance  with  all  the  intricacies  of  the 
mountain  chain  rendered  him  an  admirable  guide — 
to  point  out  a  path  which  was  comparatively  un- 
known, and  of  which  the  Swiss  had  evinced  their 
entire  ignorance  by  leaving  it  totally  unprotected. 
For  a  time  the  count  treated  the  suggestion  with 
indifference,  declaring  that  it  was  impassable  for  a 
large  army  ;  but  the  pertinacity  of  his  follower  at 
length  induced  him  to  explore  it,  when  his  doubts 
were  shaken,  and  having  waited  upon  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  to  solicit  his  permission  to  profit  by  the  dis- 
covery, he  immediately  started  for  Lyons  to  com- 
municate to  the  king  the  result  of  his  investigation. 
The  proposition  was  submitted  to  the  council,  who, 
after  some  deliberation,  decided  that  if,  after  a 
careful  survey  of  the  pass,  the  attempt  appeared 
practicable,  it  should  be  made  ;  and  as  a  prelim- 
inary measure,  the  Sire  de  Lautrec  and  Pietro  da 
Navarro,  who  were  esteemed  the  most  competent 
judges  upon  such  a  subject — the  one  from  his  fond- 
ness for  adventure  and  boldness  in  confronting 
difficulties,  and  the  other  from  his  mechanical  skill 
and   knowledge — were  despatched   to  examine  the 


15 15  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  17 1 

pass,  and  to  report  upon  its  practicability.  They 
were  accompanied  by  the  Marechals  Trivulzio  and 
La  Palice,  the  Comte  de  Moreto,  and  his  vassal  ; 
and  the  whole  extent  of  the  formidable  pass  was 
strictly  surveyed,  when  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
difficulties,  although  great  and  various,  were  never- 
theless not  insurmountable  if  effectual  measures 
were  taken ;  and,  upon  the  delivery  of  this  opinion, 
it  was  at  once  resolved  that  the  attempt  should  be 
made. 

Detachments  were  marched  towards  Mont  Cenis 
and  Mont  Genievre  to  distract  and  mislead  the 
attention  of  the  enemy,  and,  all  being  in  readiness, 
the  vanguard  of  the  French  army  forded  the  Du- 
rance, and,  followed  by  the  remainder  of  the  troops, 
entered  the  mountain  chain  on  the  Guillestre  side, 
and  commenced  their  gigantic  undertaking.  Never 
had  the  zeal  and  skill  of  Navarro  availed  so  much. 
Under  his  directions  roads  were  levelled,  ravines 
filled  up,  trees  felled,  and  rocks  rent  from  their 
bases  ;  bridges  thrown  over  torrents,  and  the 
cannon  dragged  by  hand  across  precipitous  heights 
and  along  narrow  ledges,  where  it  was  impossible 
to  entrust  their  safety  to  other  than  human  strength. 

No  one  who  has  not  traversed  the  Alps — not  by 
the  roads  now  formed,  but  among  the  wild  and 
rugged  ravines  known  only  to  the  mountain  hunter, 
who  even  to  this  day  reveals  them  grudgingly  to  the 
inquisitive  and  adventurous  traveller — can  for  an 
instant  comprehend,  and  far  less  appreciate,  all  the 
labour,  danger,  and  uncertainty  of  such   an   enter- 


172  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

prise  as  that  now  undertaken  by  the  French  army. 
As  the  troops  advanced  upon  their  perilous  way 
their  difficulties  increased.  Nature,  in  all  the 
majesty  of  her  most  formidable  horrors,  appeared 
to  frown  upon  their  audacity.  The  roaring  of  the 
winds  that  growled  through  the  deep  and  dark 
gullies  by  which  they  were  surrounded  ;  the  hollow 
crashing  of  the  tools  with  which  the  pioneers  seemed 
to  be  cleaving  into  the  very  heart  of  the  rocky 
mountains  ;  the  avalanches  which,  disturbed  by  this 
unwonted  intrusion,  came  thundering  down  with  an 
impetuosity  that  mocked  the  most  steady  gaze  ;  the 
cataracts  which  leapt  from  ledge  to  ledge  until  they 
poured  their  vexed  and  boiling  tide  into  some 
unseen  depth  below ;  the  perpetual  loss  of  life 
which  was  occasioned  by  the  sudden  dislodgment 
of  loosened  masses  that  rolled  into  the  abyss,  and 
ultimately  fell  with  a  crash  which  sounded  like  the 
ruin  of  a  world — all  these  impediments  failed  to 
discourage  the  ardour  of  the  French  soldiery.  Con- 
quest was  before  them,  and  they  toiled  on  uncom- 
plainingly until  the  mighty  task  was  accomplished, 
and  they  descended  safely  into  the  valley  of  Stura, 
near  the  town  of  Coni,  in  the  territories  of  the 
Marquis  de  Saluzzo,  a  firm  ally  of  the  French 
crown,  with  all  their  heavy  cavalry,  and  seventy 
pieces  of  ordnance.  All  the  estates  of  Saluzzo  had 
been  invaded  by  the  enemy,  and  all  his  strongholds 
taken,  save  the  castle  of  Ravello,  which,  owing  to 
its  extreme  strength,  had  been  enabled  to  make 
an  effectual  resistance ;    while  the  other  fortresses, 


15 15  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  173 

whence  his  troops  had  been  driven  out,  were  oc- 
cupied by  Swiss  garrisons,  and  his  lands  harried 
and  laid  waste  by  the  forces  of  Prosper  Colonna,^ 
an  able  and  experienced  general,  who  commanded 
the  army  of  the  coalition,  and  to  whom  the  Duke  of 
Milan  had  entrusted  the  passes  of  the  Alps,  which 
were  defended  by  a  force  of  twenty  thousand  Swiss. 

Courageous  as  he  was,  however,  the  personal 
bravery  of  Colonna  was  not  more  conspicuous  than 
his  arrogance ;  and  while  he  awaited  the  approach 
of  the  French  army  he  affected  the  utmost  con- 
tempt for  the  enemy  against  which  he  was  to 
contend,  even  carrying  his  presumption  so  far  as 
to  appropriate  to  himself  the  county  of  Carmagnola, 
after  having  arranged  with  the  Swiss  to  dispossess 
the  Duke  of  Savoy  of  his  dominions,  as  the  forfeit 
which  he  was  to  pay  for  aiding  and  abetting  his 
nephew,  Francis  I.,  in  his  designs  on  the  Milanese. 

The  vanguard  of  the  French  army  had  scarcely 
descended  into  the  plain  of  Stura  when  they  were 
informed  that  Colonna  had  established  his  quarters 
in  the  fortress  of  Carmagnola,  where,  confident  in  his 
security,  he  had  even  disdained  to  take  such  precau- 
tions as  a  better  policy  would  have  prompted.  The 
spirit  of  French  chivalry  was  at  once  aroused  by  this 
intelligence,  and  La  Palice,  D'Aubigny,  Imbercourt, 
Bayard,  Montmorency,  and  Bussy  d'Amboise  re- 
solved to  make  an  attempt  to  surprise  him  in  his 

1  Prosper  Colonna  was  the  son  of  Antonio,  Prince  of  Salerno. 
He  defeated  the  French  army  at  the  battle  of  La  Bicocca,  in  1522, 
and  died  in  the  course  of  the  succeeding  year,  with  the  reputation  of 
an  able  general. 


174  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

Stronghold.  They  accordingly  advanced  towards 
Carmagnola  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  men-at-arms 
carefully  selected  for  the  purpose ;  and  while  the 
Roman  general  was  watching  the  progress  of  the 
main  army  over  a  pass  which  he  considered  as  the 
most  hazardous  that  could  be  contemplated,  he  never 
anticipated  that  a  little  band  of  adventurers  would 
make  their  way  by  that  of  Rocca  Sparviera,  which 
he  believed  to  be  utterly  impracticable  for  cavalry. 

Such  an  attempt  was,  however,  made,  and  success- 
fully accomplished  ;  but  on  their  arrival  at  Carma- 
gnola the  courageous  party  found  that  Colonna  was 
no  longer  there,  but  was  moving  towards  Villa 
Franca,  a  small  town  upon  the  Po,  where  he  fre- 
quently halted,  and,  as  they  ascertained,  was  that 
day  to  dine  before  he  proceeded  to  Pignerol,  where 
he  had  convened  a  council  of  war. 

Bayard  earnestly  proposed  an  immediate  pursuit, 
which,  being  acceded  to  by  his  companions,  the 
Comte  de  Moreto  was  despatched,  disguised  as  a 
peasant,  to  hang  upon  the  skirts  of  the  enemy's 
army,  consisting  of  three  hundred  mounted  gen- 
darmes and  some  troops  of  light  horse,  and  to  ascer- 
tain the  order  of  their  march.  Upon  his  return  he 
confirmed  the  intelligence  they  had  already  received, 
that,  in  full  assurance  of  his  security,  Colonna  was 
advancing  leisurely  towards  his  destination,  rather 
like  a  private  traveller  riding  through  his  own  terri- 
tories than  a  general  who  was  prepared  to  encounter 
an  enemy. 

Once   assured   of  this    fact,   their  arrangements 


15 IS  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  175 

were  speedily  completed,  and  they  were  forthwith 
in  movement.  Imbercourt  led  the  van  with  a 
hundred  archers,  supported  by  Bayard  with  a  like 
number  of  picked  men,  about  an  arrow's  flight 
behind,  while  the  rear  was  closed  by  La  Palice  and 
D'Aubigny.  But  although  they  advanced  silently 
and  with  great  precaution,  they  did  not  succeed  in 
escaping  observation,  and  Colonna  was  soon  apprised 
by  one  of  his  spies  that  a  French  force  was  tracking 
his  footsteps.  He,  however,  treated  the  matter 
lightly,  and  being  at  the  moment  on  his  way  to  attend 
mass,  he  merely  remarked  that  it  could  only  be 
Bayard  and  his  band,  unless  the  remainder  of  the 
army  had  flown  over  the  mountains,  and  contented 
himself  as  he  was  entering  the  church  by  despatch- 
ing a  second  emissary  to  ascertain  the  real  strength 
of  the  advancing  party. 

On  the  conclusion  of  the  service  he  was  informed 
by  his  messenger  that  he  was  pursued  by  more  than 
a  thousand  French  cavalry  ;  but,  although  startled 
by  the  intelligence,  he  was  still  doubtful  of  the  fact, 
declaring  that  the  man's  fears  had  exaggerated  the 
number  of  the  enemy,  but  that  he  would,  neverthe- 
less, ere  long  repay  Bayard  for  the  inconvenience  to 
which  he  was  subjected  through  his  agency  by  taking 
him  like  a  pigeon  in  a  trap  ;  and  as  he  seated  himself 
at  table  he  impatiently  desired  one  of  his  gentlemen 
to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  score  of  horse,  to  ride 
back  a  mile  or  two  on  the  road  to  Carmagnola,  and 
to  inform  him  if  any  danger  of  a  surprise  really 
existed. 


176  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

He  then  quietly  commenced  his  repast,  but  he 
was  not  long  destined  to  retain  his  arrogant  tran- 
quillity, for  the  meal  was  not  concluded  when  a  cry 
of  alarm  became  audible,  and  shouts  of  "  France  ! 
France !  "  echoed  through  the  narrow  streets  of  the 
little  town. 

The  reconnoitring  party  had  come  in  sight  of 
the  French  troops  long  ere  they  anticipated  an 
encounter,  for  which  they  were  totally  unprepared, 
and  on  witnessing  their  numbers  they  at  once  turned 
and  fled.  Imbercourt,  however,  followed  them  up 
so  closely  that  he  entered  the  gates  of  Villa  Franca 
simultaneously  with  the  fugitives,  and  before  the 
sentinels,  who  were  fearful  of  injuring  their  own 
comrades,  had  time  to  fire  a  shot.  The  post  once 
gained,  he  retained  it,  although  wounded  in  the  face, 
until  he  was  joined  by  Bayard ;  nor  could  all  the 
after  attempts  of  the  garrison  enable  them  to  retake  it. 

For  a  brief  time  the  conflict  was  a  severe  one, 
but  the  arrival  of  La  Palice  and  D'Aubigny  soon 
rendered  all  further  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
papal  forces  utterly  hopeless.  Both  the  gates  were 
secured  to  prevent  their  egress,  and  only  two  Alba- 
nian soldiers  escaped  over  the  plank  adjoining  the 
drawbridge,  who  fled  wildly  towards  a  strong  body 
of  Swiss,  encamped  within  three  miles  of  Villa  Franca, 
with  intelligence  of  the  disaster. 

Surprised,  but  not  subdued,  Colonna  made  a 
futile  attempt  to  defend  himself ;  but  the  house 
which  he  occupied  was  surrounded,  his  garrison 
made  prisoners,  and  all  escape  rendered  impractic- 


15 1 5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  177 

able.  In  this  strait  he  demanded  to  be  informed 
who  were  his  captors,  and  he  no  sooner  ascertained 
their  names  than,  with  all  the  vehemence  of  his 
nation,  he  abandoned  himself  to  the  most  violent 
grief,  cursing  his  fate,  and  lamenting  that  God  had 
not  permitted  him  to  meet  them  in  the  field. 

Bayard  received  the  sword  which  he  at  length 
reluctantly  and  sullenly  resigned  with  a  courtesy  and 
respect  which,  in  a  calmer  moment,  must  have  gone 
far  to  console  him  ;  but  he  could  remember  only  the 
mortification  to  which  he  had  subjected  himself  by 
his  own  want  of  caution,  and  continually  exclaimed  : 
**  Would  to  God  that  I  had  met  them  in  a  fair  field, 
even  if  I  had  perished  there !  " 

Many  other  prisoners  of  rank  were  taken,  and 
among  the  rest  the  Count  de  Policastro,  Piero  Mor- 
gante,  and  Carolo  Cadamosto,  all  good  and  approved 
soldiers ;  while  the  booty  exceeded  even  the  wildest 
hopes  of  the  victors.  "  Had  it  been  well  managed," 
says  the  Loyal  Servant,  in  the  true  chapman  spirit  of 
the  age,  when  it  is  certain  that  all  ranks  of  the  army 
thought  nearly  as  much  of  the  ransom  to  be  obtained 
for  their  prisoners  as  of  the  glory  of  defeating  them, 
**  it  might  have  been  made  to  yield  a  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  ducats."  Suffice  it,  that  by  the  cap- 
ture of  Villa  Franca  the  French  secured,  besides 
other  spoils,  seven  hundred  horses,  of  which  about 
four  hundred  were  of  pure  Andalusian  race  ;  while 
Colonna  himself  lost  on  that  disastrous  day  more 
than  fifty  thousand  ducats  in  gold  and  silver  plate, 
jewels,  and  money. 

VOL.  I  J  2 


178  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

Nor  was  this  the  only  success  with  which  the 
campaign  opened  for  Francis.  A  body  of  troops 
had  been  despatched  to  Genoa  by  sea,  under  the 
command  of  Aimar  de  Prie,  the  grand-master  of  the 
crossbow-men,  and  intelligence  was  received  a  short 
time  subsequently  to  the  capture  of  Colonna  that 
they  had  reached  their  destination  in  safety,  had 
been  warmly  welcomed,  and  that  their  strength  had 
been  augmented  by  a  force  of  four  thousand  Genoese 
who  had  enlisted  under  their  banner,  and  with  whose 
co-operation  they  had  surprised  and  taken  Ales- 
sandria and  Tortona,  and  possessed  themselves  of 
the  whole  of  the  Milanese  on  that  bank  of  the  Po. 

The  discomfiture  of  Colonna  had,  meanwhile, 
disconcerted  all  the  measures  taken  by  the  allied 
sovereigns  to  secure  the  defence  of  Lombardy.  The 
Pope  hastily  issued  an  order  to  his  nephew,  Lorenzo 
de  Medici,  to  halt  the  pontifical  army  within  the 
frontiers  of  Modena,  and  at  the  same  time  de- 
spatched a  trusty  messenger  to  assure  the  French 
king  of  his  neutrality  ;  while  Raymond  de  Cardona, 
who  had  concentrated  the  Spanish  forces  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Verona,  awaited  in  vain  the 
money  which  had  been  promised  to  him  by  Ferdi- 
nand and  the  German  troops  with  which  he  was  to 
have  been  reinforced  by  Maximilian ;  and  meanwhile, 
closely  pressed  by  the  Venetian  general,  who  occupied 
the  Polesino  de  Rovego,  he  could  neither  advance 
nor  retreat. 

Thus  the  Swiss  found  themselves,  at  a  most 
critical  moment,  abandoned  by  their  allies.     More- 


ISI5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  179 

over,  their  arrears  of  pay,  amounting  to  forty 
thousand  florins,  had  not  reached  them ;  they  con- 
sidered themselves  disgraced  by  the  success  of  the 
French  army  in  crossing  the  Alps,  which  they  had 
undertaken  to  prevent,  and  were  exasperated  by 
the  contempt  with  which  they  were  regarded  by  the 
better  disciplined  and  more  soldier-like  forces  of  a 
nation  towards  which  their  hatred  was  unmitigated. 
But  the  wound  which  rankled  the  most  deeply  in  the 
hearts  of  the  mercenary  mountaineers  was  the  non- 
arrival  of  their  salary,  which  so  enraged  them  against 
both  the  Pope  and  the  Viceroy  of  Naples  that  they 
robbed  the  chest  of  the  pontifical  commissary,  and 
retired  in  disorder  to  Verceil. 

At  this  precise  moment  the  French  generals  were 
pressing  forward  to  Milan,  without  any  other  impedi- 
ment to  their  entrance  into  that  city  than  these  same 
Switzers  who,  at  Galerata,  on  the  road  from  Milan 
to  the  Simplon,  appeared  to  be  about  to  abandon 
the  defence  of  Italy.  Anxious  to  effect  a  reconcilia- 
tion with  these  mischievous  antagonists,  Francis, 
who  had  never  entertained  towards  them  the  same 
dislike  which  had  been  manifested  by  his  predecessor, 
and  who  was  aware  that  several  of  their  most 
esteemed  leaders  were  in  his  interest,  particularly 
Jean  de  Diesbach,  Albert  de  la  Pierre,  and  George 
de  Supersax  Valaisan,  caused  them  to  be  followed  to 
Galerata  by  commissaries  who  were  empowered  to 
accord  to  them  whatever  sum  they  might  demand, 
on  condition  that  they  would  lay  down  their  arms. 
Aware  of  their  value  in  the  field,  he  was  anxious  to 


i8o  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

purchase  their  friendship  and  to  repay  their  allegi- 
ance to  himself  at  their  own  price,  and,  as  the 
proposition  met  with  no  repulse,  and  they  thus  saw 
an  opportunity  of  at  once  satisfying  their  rapacity 
and  their  revenge,  M.  de  Lautrec  and  the  Bastard 
of  Savoy  ultimately  agreed  to  promise  them  seven 
hundred  thousand  crowns. 

Meanwhile  the  coalesced  princes,  desirous,  as 
soon  as  they  witnessed  the  formidable  attitude 
assumed  by  Francis,  to  consolidate  by  a  treaty  of 
peace  the  few  days  of  truce  which  were  rapidly 
coming  to  a  close,  and  if  possible  to  induce  the  king 
to  withdraw  to  a  greater  distance  from  Milan, 
entered  into  a  negotiation  with  him  to  that  effect; 
but  so  certain  did  it  appear  that  the  young  monarch 
would,  should  he  comply  with  their  wish  for  a 
cessation  of  hostilities,  be  enabled  to  dictate  his 
own  terms,  that  the  Due  de  Gueldres,  whose  pre- 
sence was  needed  in  his  own  dominions  to  check 
the  aggressions  of  the  Brabanters,  withdrew  from 
the  army,  leaving  his  troops  under  the  command 
of  his  nephew,  Claude  de  Lorraine,  Due  de  Guise, 
brother  of  the  reigning  prince.  He  was,  however, 
premature,  for  while  the  negotiations  were  still 
pending,  and  before  the  arrangement  could  be 
concluded,  a  reinforcement  of  ten  thousand 
Switzers  who  had  just  crossed  the  Alps  to 
share  the  fortunes  of  their  countrymen,  and  the 
powerful  exhortations  of  the  celebrated  Cardinal 
of  Sion,  the  sworn  enemy  of  France,  sufficed  to 
dissuade  the  mercenaries  from  their  purpose,  and 


15 1 5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  i8r 

to  put  an  end  to  the  treaty  altogether.  The  new- 
comers, resolved  not  to  have  made  a  bootless 
journey,  declared  that  they  would  not  return  home 
empty-handed  while  those  who  had  preceded  them 
were  gorged  with  booty,  and  proposed  that  the 
money  which  the  French  king  had  deposited  at 
Buflfaloro  for  the  payment  of  his  troops  should  be 
carried  off.  The  scheme  was  a  tempting  one  to 
the  avaricious  mountaineers,  and  met  with  almost 
universal  welcome ;  but  Jean  de  Diesbach  and 
Albert  de  la  Pierre,  who  had  hitherto  possessed 
great  influence,  finding  themselves  unable  to  dis- 
suade their  followers  from  so  disgraceful  an  enter- 
prise, returned  to  their  own  country  with  six  or 
seven  thousand  men,  and,  it  is  believed,  warned 
Lautrec  of  the  contemplated  attack. 

Inspired  by  the  eloquence  of  the  cardinal,  the 
Swiss  were  once  more  eager  to  meet  those  in  arms 
to  whom  they  had  been  about  to  sell  their  services ; 
and  their  old  hatred  against  France  was  again 
revived  by  the  voice  of  the  unholy  churchman,  who, 
as  the  troops  defiled  before  him,  shouted  exultingly : 
"  Grasp  your  spears,  beat  your  drums,  and  let  us 
march  without  loss  of  time  to  glut  our  hate  upon 
them,  and  to  quench  our  thirst  with  their  blood." 

Under  this  sanguinary  influence  the  Swiss  made 
their  attack  upon  Buffaloro,  where,  as  we  have 
already  shown,  they  failed  in  their  object,  and 
thence  marched  from  Monza  towards  Milan,  plun- 
dering alike  friends  and  foes,  quarrelling  among 
themselves,  and  spreading  desolation  upon  their  path. 


l82  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

The  impatient  spirit  of  Bayard  chafed  at  the 
insolence  of  the  ill-governed  mercenaries,  who  were 
thus  impeding  the  progress  of  the  French  arms ; 
and  aware  that  they  were  weakened  by  internal 
divisions,  and  that  the  opportunity  was  not  one  to 
be  neglected,  he  wrote  to  the  king,  who  was  then 
at  Lyons,  to  solicit  his  permission  to  attack  them 
with  that  portion  of  the  army  which  was  then 
upon  the  spot,  and  which  he  declared  to  be  sufficient 
to  ensure  success.  Francis,  however,  would  not 
listen  to  the  suggestion,  but  gave  stringent  orders 
that  no  engagement  should  be  hazarded  until  the 
whole  of  the  troops  could  be  brought  into  the  field. 
He,  however,  hastened  his  own  departure  from 
France,  and  proceeded  with  all  speed  to  Turin, 
where  he  was  warmly  greeted  by  his  uncle,  Charles 
III.,  Duke  of  Savoy,  that  wavering  prince  who 
had  ever  a  ready  reception  for  every  successful 
sovereign.  Several  strong  places  were  taken  on 
his  way  without  an  effort  at  defence,  and  many 
a  bronze  cheek  flushed  as  the  keys  of  Novara  were 
delivered  up.  At  this  point  he  was  joined  by  the 
Due  de  Gueldres,  the  ever  faithful  and  loyal  ser- 
vant of  France,  with  six  thousand  lansquenets  ; 
and  while  the  Swiss  entered  Milan  with  their 
whole  army,  amounting  to  a  force  of  thirty-five  thou- 
sand men,  Francis  established  his  headquarters  at 
Marignano,  a  small  village  about  two  leagues  from 
the  city  gates,  pushing  his  vanguard  to  San-Donato 
and  Santa  Brigitta,  which  diminished  the  distance 
between  the  hostile  troops  about  one-half. 


I5I5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  183 

To  prevent  any  junction  between  the  Swiss  and 
the  papal  and  Spanish  armies  was  now  an  object 
of  the  utmost  importance,  and  accident  effected 
for  the  young  king  what  must  otherwise  have  been 
hopeless.  The  Spaniards  had  made  prisoner  a  con- 
fidential messenger  of  the  Pope,  and  affecting  not 
to  credit  the  account  which  he  gave  of  his  character 
and  mission,  they  took  possession  of  his  despatches, 
and  discovered  from  their  contents  that  not  only 
was  Leo  in  treaty  with  Francis,  but  that  his 
nephew  had  also  addressed  to  him  a  letter  of  com- 
pliment and  congratulation.  This  discovery  natu- 
rally created  a  mutual  jealousy  and  distrust,  and 
Cardona  refused  to  pass  the  Po  unless  the  papal 
general  were  in  his  company ;  a  resolution  which, 
by  the  delays  which  it  produced,  prevented  any 
co-operation  with  the  Swiss,  and  moreover  gave 
D'Alviano  time  to  reach  Lodi,  ten  miles  farther 
forward,  with  a  large  body  of  mounted  troops ; 
while  Cardona  himself,  with  the  papal  and  Spanish 
armies,  was  at  Placenza,  beyond  the  Po,  twenty 
miles  farther  off  in  the  rear  of  the  French  forces. 

Indignant  at  the  sordid  treachery  of  the  Swiss, 
Francis  was  now  as  eager  to  attack  them  as  he 
had  previously  been  to  conciliate ;  while  the  Car- 
dinal of  Sion  was  equally  desirous  that  they  should 
meet  the  enemy  single-handed,  without  either  papal 
or  Spanish  interference  ;  a  suggestion  which  aroused 
alike  the  vanity  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  excited 
mountaineers,  who  had  begun  to  esteem  themselves 
invincible.     From  an  elevated  spot  he   harangued 


l84  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

the  restless  host,  calHng  upon  them  to  do  them- 
selves justice,  to  remember  their  late  successes, 
and  the  pledge  which  they  had  given  to  restore 
the  young  Duke  of  Milan  to  his  lawful  rights.  He 
reminded  them  how  much  and  how  often  they 
had  themselves  contributed  to  the  glory  of  the 
French  arms ;  and  bade  them  recollect  that  in 
return  for  their  services  France  had  broken  her 
treaties,  violated  her  most  solemn  pledges,  and 
insulted  them  in  their  honour,  by  opposing  to 
them  the  lansquenets  of  Germany,  who  now  sought 
to  arrogate  to  themselves  a  fame  which  the  Swiss 
had  purchased  with  their  blood  in  many  a  well- 
fought  field.  He  spoke  with  contempt  of  the 
superior  force  to  which  they  would  be  opposed, 
declaring  that  the  remembrance  of  Novara  should 
be  sufficient  to  render  such  a  consideration  idle ; 
and  he  terminated  his  impassioned  address  by 
calling  their  attention  to  the  fact  that  should  they 
conquer,  not  only  all  the  glory  but  all  the  spoil 
would  be  their  own  ;  an  argument  which  revealed 
how  perfectly  he  was  master  of  the  art  of  elo- 
quence. 

A  wild  shout  of  applause  welcomed  his  words, 
but,  ere  he  could  resume  his  speech,  the  young 
Marquis  de  Fleuranges,  who  had  approached  the 
city  gates  to  reconnoitre  with  more  boldness  than 
caution,  was  seen  and  recognized  by  Mutio  Colonna, 
who  instantly  gave  the  alarm.  The  Swiss  flew  to 
arms,  and  on  Thursday  the  13th  of  September, 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  they  marched  out 


15 1 5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  185 

of  Milan,  still  under  the  excitement  of  the  words  to 
which  they  had  been  listening,  and,  burning  with 
the  thirst  of  gold  and  hatred,  advanced  to  Marig- 
nano  to  attack  the  enemy.  Disdaining  to  delay 
the  moment  of  their  charge  by  any  precautionary 
measure,  they  moved  forward  in  a  compact  body 
along  the  direct  road,  flanked  on  either  side  by  a 
deep  ditch ;  and  the  fire  of  the  artillery,  which 
was  turned  upon  them,  produced  no  other  effect 
on  their  order  of  march  than  to  cause  them  to 
draw  their  ranks  closer,  and  to  fill  up  with  celerity 
and  steadiness  the  gaps  which  were  made  from 
time  to  time  in  their  column  ;  and  ere  the  twilight 
fell  they  had  overthrown  the  first  body  of  lans- 
quenets, who  had  been  entrusted  by  the  Connetable 
de  Bourbon  with  the  guard  of  the  guns. 

The  king  was  conversing  with  D'Alviano,  pre- 
viously to  seating  himself  at  table,  when  Fleuranges 
galloped  into  the  camp  with  information  from  M. 
de  Bourbon  that  the  Swiss  were  approaching.  All 
was  immediately  in  movement ;  and  while  Francis 
assumed  his  arms,  he  urged  D'Alviano  to  join 
him  with  all  speed  with  the  Venetian  army  ;  and 
this  done,  he  sprang  into  the  saddle  and  has- 
tened towards  the  enemy,  followed  by  his  body- 
guard ;  while  D'Alviano  hurried  back  to  Lodi  to 
bring  up  such  troops  as  he  could  collect  upon  the 
instant. 

History  scarcely  affords  an  example  of  a  battle 
disputed  with  greater  obstinacy  than  that  of  Marig- 
nano.     The    Swiss,    intoxicated   with  vanity,   hate, 


1 86  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

and  greed,  fought  as  though  all  their  renown  as 
soldiers  were  to  be  staked  upon  this  one  die  ;  while 
Francis  was  surrounded  by  able  and  experienced 
generals,  and,  although  ignorant  of  the  art  of  war, 
was  full  of  intrepidity  and  courage.  When  the 
young  king  reached  the  field  the  action  had,  as 
we  have  stated  above,  already  commenced ;  and 
although  the  conn^table  had  taken  every  precaution 
to  strengthen  his  position,  the  serried  attack  of 
the  enemy  placed  the  French  troops  at  a  disadvan- 
tage, from  the  impracticability  of  their  acting  simul- 
taneously. A  large  ditch  had  been  dug  to  protect 
the  guns,  which  were  flanked  by  the  cavalry ;  but 
although  a  murderous  fire  continued  to  be  turned 
upon  them,  the  mountaineers  did  not  swerve  or 
hesitate  for  an  instant.  On  they  moved  in  silence, 
darkening  the  causeway  with  their  numbers,  filling 
up  the  places  of  their  dead,  and  marching  straight 
upon  the  guns.  Not  even  the  appearance  of  the 
cavalry,  destitute  as  they  were  of  such  a  force, 
appeared  to  startle  them ;  but  still  they  pressed 
forward,  concentrating  all  their  efforts  against  their 
detested  rivals,  the  lansquenets,  and  apparently 
regardless  of  the  mounted  troops.  This  fact,  un- 
fortunately, aroused  the  suspicions  of  the  Germans, 
who,  perceiving  that  they  were  the  sole  objects  of 
attack,  began  to  apprehend  treachery ;  and  as  this 
fatal  idea  gained  ground,  they  wavered  and  gave 
way,  ultimately  retreating  in  disorder  behind  the 
ditch,  where  the  Swiss  followed  them  so  closely  as 
to  gain  possession  of  four  of  the  guns. 


1515  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  187 

The  rapid  eye  of  the  conndtable  detected  the 
truth  at  a  glance,  and,  resolved  to  convince  his 
startled  allies  of  the  fallacy  of  their  suspicion,  he 
caused  the  cavalry  to  attack  the  flank  of  the  Swiss 
column,  which  they  did  with  considerable  effect, 
although  from  the  nature  of  the  ground  they  were 
unable  to  manoeuvre,  and  could  only  advance  by 
five  hundred  at  a  time.  Meanwhile  Francis  himself 
advanced  at  the  head  of  the  Black  Bands, ^  and  made 
a  vigorous  attack  upon  the  opposite  flank  ;  when  the 
lansquenets,  at  once  convinced  of  their  error,  at- 
tempted to  regain  the  advantage  they  had  lost,  and, 
after  a  desperate  struggle,  succeeded  in  driving  the 
enemy  beyond  the  ditch,  and  once  more  turning  the 
guns  against  them.  The  dauntless  courage  of  the 
young  monarch,  who  fought  on  foot,  pike  in  hand, 
like  the  force  which  he  led,  animated  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  troops,  and  for  a  moment  shook  the  arrogant 
tranquillity  of  the  Swiss  ;  but,  nevertheless,  nothing 
important  had  been  accomplished.  Still  the  very 
sky  seemed  to  bristle  with  their  long  pikes,  and 
their  ranks  were  as  dense  as  at  the  commencement 
of  the  action.  In  vain  did  the  connetable  and  his 
generals  exert  the  most  desperate  valour ;  in  vain 
did  the  panting  horses  press  closely  upon  the  fore- 
most files,  while  their  riders  endeavoured  to  cut 
their  way  through  the  thick-clinging  mass ;  again 
and  again  they  returned  to  the  charge,  only  to  be 

1  These  were  the  forces  contributed  by  the  Due  de  Gueldres, 
who,  during  the  long  wars  of  their  sovereign  against  the  emperor, 
having  always  fought  under  a  black  banner,  had  acquired  this 
appellation. 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


foiled  ;  and  at  length,  exhausted  by  their  unsuccess- 
ful efforts,  they  were  compelled  to  fall  back  in  some 
disorder  upon  the  infantry,  when  the  king  suddenly 
charged  one  of  the  Swiss  wings,  consisting  of  four 
thousand  men,  with  two  hundred  gendarmes  so 
opportunely  and  so  vigorously,  that  the  division 
was  completely  routed,  and  with  a  cry  of  "  France! 
France !"  laid  down  their  arms. 

The  similarity  of  uniform  that  existed  between 
the  two  armies,  each  of  which  bore  the  white  cross, 
was  a  serious  disadvantage  to  the  French,  as,  amid 
the  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  the  horses  and  artillery 
and  the  deepening  twilight,  it  was  difficult  for  them 
to  distinguish  friends  from  enemies, — a  circumstance 
which  had  nearly  led  to  the  capture  of  the  young 
king,  who,  while  at  the  head  of  his  gendarmes, 
imagined  that  he  was  approaching  a  body  of  lans- 
quenets, and  galloped  towards  them  shouting  his 
rallying  cry,  when  instantly  a  score  of  pikes  were 
levelled  at  him,  and  he  was  compelled  to  make 
a  hasty  retreat  with  his  squadron.  The  Swiss,  on 
the  other  hand,  having  no  cavalry  of  their  own, 
could  direct  their  weapons  fearlessly  against  the 
mounted  force,  nor  did  they  fail  to  profit  by  such 
an  opportunity  whenever  it  occurred ;  but  still, 
conscious  that  they  were  indebted  to  the  same 
manoeuvre  for  their  success  at  Novara,  they  made 
every  other  object  subservient  to  the  capture  of  the 
artillery,  and  were  never  for  an  instant  diverted 
from  their  purpose. 

As  the  moon  rose  less  difficulty  was  experienced 


1515  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  189 

by  the   French,   who  were  once  more  enabled  to 
distinguish  friends  from  foes ;  and  Francis  having 
rallied  a   body  of  lansquenets  joined    the    French 
infantry,  led  by  the  connetable,  and  succeeded   in 
driving  back  the  battalion  which  was  marching  upon 
the  guns.     This  was  the  most  fearful  moment  of  the 
battle ;    the    two    armies    became    intermixed,    the 
ditches  were  filled  with  dead,  and  no  longer  offered 
an  impediment  to  the  passage  of  either  party ;  La 
Tremouille,  who  yet  writhed  at  the  remembrance  of 
Novara,  and  his  son,  the  Prince  de  Talmont,  who 
was  equally  anxious  to  avenge  the  honour  of  the 
French  arms,  remained  throughout  the  whole  con- 
flict upon  this  one  spot,  feeling  that  here,  and  only 
here,  would  the  fortunes   of  the  fight  be  decided ; 
while  Bayard,  who  was  close  beside  them,  having 
had  his  own  war-horse  killed  under  him,  mounted  a 
second  just  previously  to  the  last  charge,  and,  more 
intent  upon  the  enemy  than  his  own  safety,  suffered 
the  bridle  to  escape  from  his  hand,  when  the  spirited 
animal,  excited  by  the  clashing  of  weapons  and  the 
shrill  battle-cries  which  resounded  on  every  side,  no 
sooner  found  itself  freed  from  restraint  than  it  gal- 
loped madly  towards  the  Swiss  lines,  broke  through 
the   foremost    ranks,    and    would    inevitably   have 
carried  its  rider  into  the  very  thick  of  the  enemy's 
forces  had  not  its  feet  become  entangled  in  some 
trailing  vines,  which  checked  its   headlong  career. 
The  position  of  the  good  knight  was  perilous,  but 
not  for  a  moment  losing  his  presence  of  mind,  he 
threw  himself  from  the  saddle,  cast  off  his  helmet 


I90  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

and  tasses,  and  crept  along  one  of  the  ditches  on 
his  hands  and  knees,  until  the  shouts  of  **  France ! 
France!"  which  pealed  out  close  beside  him,  gave 
him  assurance  that  he  had  reached  the  French  lines. 
The  Due  de  Lorraine,  by  whom  he  was  immedi- 
ately recognized,  supplied  him  with  a  third  horse, 
and  he  obtained  another  helmet  from  a  comrade  in 
the  field.  Little  more,  however,  could  for  the  pre- 
sent be  accomplished.  Before  midnight  the  moon 
went  down,  and  darkness  compelled  both  hosts  to 
pause  in  a  confusion  which  promised  them  ample 
work  for  the  morrow.  The  two  armies  were  com- 
pletely entangled  ;  several  batteries  had  been  taken, 
and  one  Swiss  battalion  was  so  close  upon  the  artil- 
lery, beside  which  the  king  had  taken  up  his  post, 
that  it  was  found  necessary  to  extinguish  the 
matches  in  order  that  the  enemy  might  not  discover 
how  slenderly  he  was  attended.  No  signal  of 
retreat  having  been  sounded  by  either  party,  the 
confusion  was  complete,  each  corps  or  detachment 
being  compelled  to  make  its  bivouac  where  it  had 
been  surprised  by  the  darkness ;  and  thus  friends 
and  enemies,  the  living  and  the  dead,  lay  side  by 
side,  sharing  one  common  couch,  until  the  daylight 
should  once  more  call  the  survivors  to  recommence 
their  struggle.  The  young  king  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  the  night  stretched  on  a  gun-carriage, 
completely  armed,  where  he  snatched  a  few  inter- 
vals of  broken  rest ;  and  having  complained  of 
thirst  and  demanded  a  draught  of  water,  it  was 
brought  to  him  in  a  helmet,  but  so  discoloured  with 


15 15  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  191 

blood  that,  exhausted  as  he  was,  he  put  it  from  him 
with  loathingf. 

The  hours  of  seeming  rest  were  not,  however, 
suffered  by  the  French  leaders  to  pass  in  total 
inaction.  An  Italian  trumpeter,  who  was  stationed 
near  the  person  of  the  king,  and  the  sounds  of 
whose  brazen  instrument  at  intervals  broke  upon 
the  stillness  of  that  field  of  blood  like  the  trump  of 
the  archangel,  rousing  the  dying  and  awakening  the 
requiem  of  the  dead,  gave  out  signals  to  the  dif- 
ferent French  regiments,  who  one  by  one  approached 
the  royal  person  ;  and  thus,  when  the  day  broke, 
Francis  found  himself  once  more  surrounded  by  a 
force  of  twenty  thousand  lansquenets,  and  all  his 
horse,  while  at  the  same  time  the  horns  of  the 
mountaineers  were  heard  as  if  in  response  or  de- 
fiance, although  no  corresponding  movement  took 
place  among  their  forces. 

At  break  of  day  the  Swiss  renewed  the  attack, 
the  artillery  was  impetuously  assaulted,  and  the 
Germans  who  defended  it  were  driven  back ;  but 
the  present  disposition  of  the  French  army  enabled 
it  to  withstand  this  first  shock  without  any  apparent 
discomfiture,  and  the  well-directed  fire  of  the  guns 
opened  a  passage  for  the  cavalry  through  the  hostile 
ranks,  and  turned  the  tide  in  favour  of  the  assailed. 
The  Swiss  soon  became  aware  that  they  could  not 
successfully  contend  against  the  enemy  upon  this 
point,  and  accordingly  detached  a  strong  force  to 
attack  the  French  in  the  rear ;  but  in  this  attempt 
they  were  also  destined  to  be  foiled,  as  the  troops  of 


192  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

the  Due  d'Alen9on,  which  had  hitherto  taken  no 
part  in  the  conflict,  and  the  crossbow-men  of  De 
Prie,  having  discovered  the  manceuvre,  charged 
them  with  vigour,  and  totally  routed  the  whole  body. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  the  star  of  Francis 
was  in  the  ascendant ;  the  Swiss  began  to  give  way, 
but  slowly,  reluctantly,  and  with  unbroken  ranks, 
contending  for  every  inch  of  ground  with  a  tenacity 
which  was  heroic  ;  but  at  length  they  abandoned  all 
hope  and  retreated  undisguisedly,  although  still  with 
their  faces  turned  towards  their  enemies.  When 
the  victory  was  complete  the  young  king  called  a 
council  to  decide  upon  the  expediency  of  pursuit, 
but  the  project  was  ultimately  abandoned ;  even 
Bayard,  ever  the  foremost  where  glory  was  to  be 
won,  declaring  that  the  day  might  yet  come  when 
the  co-operation  of  the  Swiss  would  be  valuable  to 
France ;  and  the  most  adventurous  remembering 
that  the  number  and  rank  of  their  own  wounded 
demanded  their  first  attention.  The  fugitives  were 
consequently  permitted  to  re-enter  Milan  without 
opposition,  where  they  passed  the  remnant  of  the 
eventful  day  which  had  witnessed  their  defeat,  and 
at  dawn  the  following  morning  marched  out  in 
mortified  silence  on  their  way  towards  their  own 
mountains. 

D'Alviano,  who  by  forced  marches  had  reached 
Marignano  with  some  Venetian  cavalry,  only  arrived 
in  time  to  attack  the  Swiss  upon  their  homeward 
path ;  but  the  exertion  which  he  had  undergone 
proved,   nevertheless,  fatal  to  his  shattered  consti- 


15 1 5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  193 

tution,  and  soon  brought  him  to  his  grave.  The 
Swiss  had  suffered  enormous  loss,  computed  at  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  men  ;  nor  had  the 
French,  conquerors  though  they  were,  unalloyed 
cause  for  rejoicing.  They  also  had  paid  a  heavy 
price  for  their  victory.  Six  thousand  of  their  troops 
had  fallen,  and  among  them  were  some  of  the  most 
chivalrous  blood  of  the  nation.  Francois  de  Bour- 
bon had  been  killed  by  his  brother's  side ;  the  brave 
young  Prince  de  Talmond,  who  had  so  nobly  sup- 
ported his  father,  was  struck  down  before  his  eyes  ; 
Pierre  de  Gouffier  Boisy,  the  gallant  D'Imbercourt, 
the  Comte  de  Sancerre,  the  Sire  de  Mouy,  Bussy, 
the  nephew  of  the  Cardinal  d'Amboise,  La  Meille- 
raye,  the  king's  standard-bearer,  De  Roye,  and  the 
young  Count  di  Pitigliano,  were  all  among  the 
slain ;  while  the  list  of  wounded  was  even  more 
appalling,  and  Bourbon  owed  his  life  to  the  in- 
trepidity of  a  squadron  of  his  own  cavalry.  Even 
Francis  himself,  as  we  have  already  shown,  barely 
escaped  capture  ;  while,  true  to  his  knightly  tenets, 
he  had  exposed  his  person  throughout  the  whole 
conflict  so  unsparingly  that  he  was  on  more  than 
one  occasion  in  imminent  peril,  and  had  a  portion  of 
his  dress  transfixed  by  the  blow  of  a  pike. 

The  letter  addressed  by  the  young  monarch  to 
his  mother  immediately  after  the  battle  is  highly 
characteristic  alike  of  his  personal  courage  and  his 
total  want  of  power  to  understand,  even  at  its  close, 
by  what  precise  strategy  the  victory  had  been 
secured  to  his  own  arms.     "  Because  the  avenue," 

VOL.  I  1 3 


194  '    THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vn 

he  says,  "  by  which  the  said  Swiss  were  approach- 
ing was  rather  narrow,  it  was  not  so  possible  to 
place  our  gendarmes  in  the  vanguard  as  though 
we  had  been  in  the  open  country,  which  threatened 
to  throw  us  into  great  disorder.  .  .  .  And  however 
well  and  gallantly  these  men-at-arms  charged,  the 
connetable,  the  Marechal  de  Chabannes,  Imber- 
court,  Teligny,  Pont-Remy,  and  others  who  were 
there,  they  were  thrown  back  upon  their  foot- 
soldiers,  so  that,  owing  to  the  great  dust,  they 
could  scarcely  see  each  other,  especially  as  the 
night  was  coming  on,  and  there  was  some  slight 
confusion ;  but  God  did  me  the  favour  to  guide 
me  to  the  side  of  those  who  were  pushing  them 
so  hotly.  I  thought  it  well  to  charge  them,  and  so 
they  were,  and  I  promise  you,  Madame,  however 
well  led  and  brave  they  were,  our  two  hundred 
gendarmes  overcame  four  thousand  Swiss,  and 
routed  them  rudely  enough,  making  them  throw 
down  their  pikes  and  cry  France  /  .  .  .  And  you 
must  understand  that  the  conflict  of  that  night 
lasted  from  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  until  be- 
tween eleven  and  twelve,  when  the  moon  failed  us. 
And  I  assure  you,  Madame,  that  I  saw  the  lans- 
quenets measure  pikes  with  the  Swiss,  the  lances 
with  the  gendarmes,  and  it  can  no  longer  be  said 
that  the  gendarmes  are  mounted  hares,  for  without 
fail  it  was  they  who  did  the  business ;  and  I  do  not 
believe  that  I  lie  when  I  say  that  by  five  hundred 
and  five  hundred  at  a  time,  thirty  fine  charges  were 
made  before  the  battle  was  won." 


15  15  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  195 

The  entire  letter  is  long,  often  playful,  and  occa- 
sionally even  flippant,  when  the  gravity  of  the  sub- 
ject is  considered ;  but  Francis  was  still  young, 
greedy  of  renown,  and  consequently  almost  careless 
of  the  means  and  price  at  which  it  was  acquired, 
while  the  generosity  of  his  character  is  apparent 
in  the  fact  that  he  speaks  of  his  own  exploits  as 
though  they  were  mere  matters  of  course,  while  he 
withholds  no  praise  from  those  by  whom  he  was 
surrounded.^ 

1  "  Au  regard  des  Suisses,  ils  dtoient  en  trois  troupes,  la  premiere 
de  dix  mille,  la  seconde  de  huit  mille  hommes,  et  la  tierce  de  dix 
mille  hommes  ;  vous  assurant  qu'ils  venoient  pour  cMtier  un  prince 
s'il  n'eut  et^  bien  accompagnd ;  car  d'entree  de  table  qu'ils  sentirent 
notre  artillerie  tirer,  ils  prindrent  le  pays  couvert,  ainsi  que  le  soleil 
commen^oit  k  se  coucher,  de  sorte  que  nous  ne  leur  fimes  pas  grand 
mal  pour  I'heure  de  notre  artillerie,  et  vous  assure  qu'il  n'est  pas 
possible  de  venir  en  plus  grande  fureur  ni  plus  ardemment :  ils  trou- 
v^rent  les  gens  de  cheval  de  I'avant-garde  par  le  cot^ ;  et  combien 
que  les  dits  hommes  d'armes  chargeassent  bien  et  gaillardement,  le 
connetable,  le  Marechal  de  Chabannes,  Ymbercourt  Telligny,  Pont 
de  Remy  et  autres  qui  etoient  Ik  si  furent-ils  reboutez  sur  leurs  gens 
de  pied,  de  sorte  avec  grande  poussi^re  que  Ton  ne  se  pouvoit  voir, 
aussi  bien  que  la  nuit  venoit ;  il  y  eut  quelque  peu  de  desordre  ;  mais 
Dieu  me  fit  la  grice  de  venir  sur  le  cote  de  ceux  qui  les  chassoient 
un  peu  chaudement,  me  sembla  bon  de  les  charger,  et  le  furent  de 
sorte,  et  vous  promets,  Madame,  si  bien  accompagnes  et  quelques 
gentils  galants  qu'ils  soient  que  deux  cens  hommes  d'armes  que  nous 
etions,  en  defismes  bien  quatre  mille  Suisses  et  les  repoussimes 
assez  rudement,  leur  faisant  jetter  leurs  piques  et  crier  France  f  La- 
quelle  chose  donna  haleine  k  nos  gens  de  la  plus  part  de  notre  bande, 
et  ceux  qui  me  purent  suivre,  allames  trouver  une  autre  bande  de 
huit  mille  hommes,  laquelle  k  I'approche  cuidions  qui  fussent  lans- 
quenets, car  la  nuit  etoit  dejk  bien  noire,  Toutefois,  quand  ce  vient 
k  crier  Fratice !  je  vous  assure  qu'ils  nous  jett^rent  cinq  k  six  cent 
piques  au  nez,  nous  montrant  qu'ils  n'dtoient  point  nos  amis.  Non- 
obstant  cela  si  furent-ils  charges  et  remis  au-dedans  de  leurs  tentes, 
en  telle  sorte  qu'ils  laisserent  de  suivre  les  lansquenets  et  nous  voyant 
la  nuit  noire,  et  n'eust  etd  la  lune  qui  aidoit,  nous  eussions  bien  ete 
empeches  k  connoitre  I'un  I'autre  ;  et  m'en  allai  jetter  dans  I'artillerie 
et  Ik  railler  cinq  ou  six  mille  lansquenets  et  quelque  trois  cens  hommes 
d'armeSjde  telle  sorte  que  je  tins  ferme  k  la  grosse  bande  des  Suisses. 


196  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

On  the  Friday  evening,  the  same  upon  which  this 
letter  was  written,  the  whole  camp  was  loud  with 
rejoicing,  and  the  bearing  of  each  separate  leader 
was  warmly  discussed,  when  it  was  generally  ad- 
mitted that  Bayard  was  the  hero  of  the  two  days, 
as  he  had  ever  been  in  the  ■  field  of  honour ;  and 
Francis  himself  was  so  fully  impressed  with  the 
same  conviction,  that  before  the  night  set  in  he 
resolved,  previously  to  creating  knights  with  his 
own  hand,  to  receive  knighthood  himself  at  that 
of  Bayard  :  the  romantic  tastes  in  which  he  loved 
to  indulge  having  caused  him  to  overlook  the  fact 
that  every  monarch  of  France  was  necessarily 
understood  to  be  a  knight  even  from  the  cradle. 

Nevertheless  the  ceremony  must  have  been  an 
imposing  one,  as   the  young  king  stood   upon  the 

"  Et  cependant  mon  frere  le  connetable  rallia  tous  les  pietons  fran- 
Qois  et  quelque  nombre  de  gendarmerie,  leur  fit  une  charge  si  rude, 
qu'il  en  tailla  cinq  ou  six  mille  en  pieces,  et  jetta  cette  bande  dehors  ; 
et  nous  par  I'autre  cote  leur  fismes  jetter  une  volde  d'artillerie  \  I'autre 
bande,  et  quant  les  chargeames  de  sorte  que  les  emportames,  leur 
fismes  passer  un  gud  qu'ils  avoient  passd  sur  nous.  Cela  fait  rail- 
liimes  tous  nous  gens  et  retournames  k  I'artillerie  ;  et  mon  fr^re  le 
conndtable  sur  I'autre  coin  de  camp,  car  les  Suisses  se  log^rent  bien 
pr^s  de  nous,  si  pres  qu'il  n'y  avoit  qu'un  fosse  entre  deux  ;  toute  la 
nuit  demeurasmes  le  cul  sur  la  selle,  la  lance  au  poing,  I'armet  k  la 
tete  et  nos  lansquenets  en  ordre  pour  combattre  ;  et  pour  ce  que 
j'etois  le  plus  pres  de  nos  ennemis,  m'a  fallu  faire  le  guet,  de  sorte 
qu'ils  ne  nous  ont  point  surpris  au  matin,  et  faut  que  vous  entendiez 
que  le  combat  du  soir  dura  depuis  les  trois  heures  apr6s  midi  jusques 
entre  onze  et  douze  heures  que  la  lune  nous  faillit,  et  y  fut  fait  une 
trentaine  de  belles  charges.  La  nuit  nous  departit  et  meme  la  paille 
pour  recommencer  au  matin,  et  croyez,  Madame,  que  nous  avons  etd 
vingt  huit  heures  k  cheval,  I'armet  a  la  tete,  sans  boire  ni  manger." 

Lettre  de  Franqois  i^''  k  la  Duchesse  d'Angouleme  sa  mere 
sur  la  bataille  de  Marignan,  dcrite  du  camp  de  Sainte-Brigide,  le  14 
Septembre  i  5  i  5,  le  jour  meme  de  la  victoire.  T.  xvii.  des  Mcmoires 
de  la  Collection  Petitot,  et  t.  i.  de  FHistoire  de  Franqois  Premier  par 
Gaillard,  p.  482  k  488. 


I5I5  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  197 

battlefield  where  he  had  subdued  his  enemies,  in 
the  midst  of  the  brave  and  devoted  chivalry  of  a 
great  nation ;  the  dead  who  had  fallen  in  his  cause 
yet  unearthed  ;  the  living  who  had  fought  beside 
him  still  at  their  post ;  the  gallant  men  who  sur- 
vived the  conflict  marshalled  about  him,  girding 
with  their  strength  the  proud  group  clustered  about 
their  youthful  and  fearless  and  victorious  sovereign  ; 
the  banners  of  their  beloved  France  streaming  upon 
the  air,  and  the  weapons  which  had  so  well  and  so 
recently  done  their  duty  gleaming  on  all  sides  ; 
feathers  streaming,  proud  war-horses  champing  the 
bit,  and  the  artillerymen  leaning  upon  their  guns, 
now  dark  and  silent. 

Mistaken  as  the  act  may  have  been,  and  worse 
than  supererogatory  in  a  powerful  monarch,  the 
scene  must,  nevertheless,  have  been  one  to  make 
high  hearts  leap  and  bold  brows  flush,  as  Francis 
called  Bayard  to  his  side,  and,  with  the  noble  and 
endearing  courtesy  familiar  to  him,  declared  his  in- 
tention of  being  there  and  then  knighted  by  the 
hand  of  a  warrior  esteemed  one  of  the  most  re- 
nowned, not  only  of  his  own  nation,  but  of  all 
Christendom ;  and  despite  the  disclaimers  of  his 
astonished  subject,  he  persisted  in  his  determina- 
tion. 

"In  good  sooth.  Sire,"  then  exclaimed  Bayard, 
who  would  have  held  further  objections  to  the  com- 
mand of  his  sovereign  as  discourteous  and  irreve- 
rent, "since  it  is  your  royal  pleasure  that  this  should 
be  I  am  ready  to  perform  your  will,  not  once,  but 


198  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

many  times,  unworthy  as  I  am  of  the  high  office  to 
which  you  have  appointed  me,"  and  grasping  his 
sword  proudly  and  firmly,  he  continued,  as  the 
young  king  bent  his  knee,  "  May  my  poor  agency 
be  as  efficacious  as  though  the  ceremony  were  per- 
formed by  Oliver,  Godfrey,  or  Baldwin,  although, 
in  good  truth,  you  are  the  first  prince  whom  I  have 
ever  dubbed  a  knight ;  and  God  grant  that  you 
may  never  turn  your  back  upon  an  enemy."  Then 
brandishing  his  good  weapon,  and  glancing  sport- 
ively at  it,  as  the  last  rays  of  evening  flashed  upon 
its  polished  blade,  he  apostrophized  it  as  though  it 
were  a  thing  of  life,  which  could  participate  in  his 
own  hilarity  of  spirit,  exclaiming,  "Thou  art  for- 
tunate indeed  to-day  that  thou  hast  been  called 
upon  to  confer  knighthood  upon  so  great  and 
powerful  a  monarch  ;  and  certes,  my  trusty  sword, 
thou  shalt  henceforth  be  carefully  guarded  as  a  relic, 
honoured  above  all  others,  and  shalt  never  be  un- 
sheathed again  save  it  be  against  the  infidel !"  Then, 
lowering  the  point  with  reverence,  he  thrust  it  back 
into  its  scabbard  amid  the  enthusiastic  shouts  of  the 
excited  army. 

Many  of  the  French  officers,  among  whom  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  was  the  gallant  young  Mar- 
quis de  Fleuranges,  then  received  the  honour  of 
knighthood  in  their  turn  by  the  hand  of  Francis 
himself;  and  three  days  having  been  consumed  in 
these  ceremonies,  and  in  the  burial  of  those  who 
had  fallen  upon  that  memorable  field,  the  French 
struck  their  tents  and  marched  towards  Milan. 


15 15  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  199 

The  Cardinal  of  Sion  had  already  taken  refuge 
in  the  coveted  city,  trusting  still  to  retrieve  the 
disasters  of  Marignano,  but  he  was  soon  undeceived 
by  the  bearing  of  the  fugitives  who  poured  through 
the  gates  after  their  defeat.  So  far  from  acknow- 
ledging his  authority,  the  mortified  Swiss  bitterly 
reproached  him  with  the  result  of  his  pernicious 
counsels,  upbraiding  him  with  the  blood  which  had 
been  spilt,  and  the  disgrace  of  which  he  had  been 
the  author ;  and  so  fierce  was  their  resentment  that 
he  was  wholly  indebted  to  the  sacredness  of  his 
character  for  his  escape  from  the  vengeance  of  the 
infuriated  troops,  who  saw  all  their  previous  glory 
and  power  annihilated  by  their  present  overthrow. 
Nor  did  he  long  venture  to  trust  even  to  this  safe- 
guard ;  for,  having  convinced  himself  that  his  influ- 
ence was  at  an  end,  he  found  it  expedient  to  escape 
by  stealth  from  the  city,  carefully  carrying  with  him, 
however,  the  young  Francesco  Sforza,  the  brother 
of  the  reigning  duke,  upon  whom  he  looked  as  the 
earnest  of  future  dissension. 

Milan  gladly  opened  its  gates  to  the  conquerors, 
for  the  terror  which  the  battle  of  Marignano  had 
inspired  forbade  any  further  effort  at  resistance  on 
the  part  of  its  citizens ;  but  the  citadel  into  which 
Maximilian  Sforza  had  retired  still  held  out.  Al- 
though by  the  late  defeat  of  his  mercenary  allies 
he  was  rendered  almost  powerless,  the  duke  had 
been  encouraged  to  defy  his  enemies  to  the  last 
extremity  by  the  fact  that  ere  they  vacated  the  city 
the  Swiss  had  encouraged  him  to  defend  the  for- 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


tress,  declaring  that  they  would  shortly  return  in 
increased  force  to  effect  his  deliverance.  Unfor- 
tunately, however,  the  promise  was  accompanied 
by  a  demand  of  their  arrears  of  pay,  which  Maxi- 
milian, who  in  losing  his  duchy  had  lost  all,  was  no 
longer  in  a  position  to  satisfy ;  and  thus,  with  a  dis- 
play of  magnanimity  at  the  outset,  they  were  finally 
enabled  to  secure  what  they  had  become  anxious  to 
obtain — a  plausible  pretext  for  abandoning  the  weak 
prince  to  his  fate. 

Dissensions  had,  moreover,  broken  out  among 
the  Italian  subjects  of  the  duke  and  the  small  force 
of  Swiss  who  had  determined  to  share  his  fortunes, 
and  thus,  besieged  from  without  and  weakened  by 
jealousies  and  differences  within,  the  citadel,  with  its 
slender  garrison  of  two  thousand  men,  was  unable 
to  withstand  the  ardour  of  the  French  led  on  by  the 
Due  de  Bourbon,  and  it  accordingly  surrendered, 
twenty  days  after  the  battle  of  Marignano,  together 
with  the  city  of  Cremona,  the  only  portion  of  Sforza's 
territories  which  was  not  already  in  the  possession 
of  the  French  king. 

Francis  proved  himself,  however,  a  generous 
conqueror,  conceded  honourable  conditions  to  the 
conquered,  suffered  the  entire  garrison  to  evacuate 
the  citadel  without  molestation,  and  offered  to  Sforza 
himself  a  safe  asylum  in  France,  with  a  pension  of 
thirty  thousand  crowns.  Destitute  alike  of  talent 
and  ambition,  Maximilian  eagerly  embraced  these 
terms,  and  gladly  retired  from  a  position  to  which 
he  was  unequal,  and  to  which  he  would  in  all  prob- 


15 15  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  201 

ability  never  have  aspired  had  he  not  listened  to 
the  advice  of  pretended  friends,  whose  interests 
were  served  by  his  advancement,  rather  than  to 
the  promptings  of  his  own  inclination.  He  accord- 
ingly renounced  his  ducal  rights  in  favour  of  the 
French  king,  passed  into  France,  and  after  linger- 
ing through  fifteen  years  of  insignificance,  ultimately 
died  in  Paris  on  the  loth  of  June  1530. 

Francis  was  now  master  of  the  whole  of  the 
Milanese,  and  a  few  days  subsequent  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  treaty  made  his  ceremonious  entry 
into  the  captured  city  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
attended  by  five  princes  of  the  blood,  when  the  oath 
of  allegiance  was  once  more  taken  by  the  authori- 
ties as  readily  and  as  glibly  as  though  it  had  not 
already  been  pledged  and  violated  on  many  pre- 
vious occasions.  Congratulations,  equally  unmean- 
ing, poured  in  from  all  sides,  and  the  young  king 
saw  himself  at  last  sovereign  of  Milan. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

1515-17 

Leo.  X.  proposes  a  treaty  with  France,  which  is  ratified  at  Viterbo — His 
tergiversation — Francis  proceeds  to  Bologna  to  meet  the  Pope — Policy 
of  the  pontiff — A  league  is  formed  between  the  two  potentates — Francis 
agrees  to  abandon  his  designs  on  Naples — The  question  of  the  Pragmatic 
Sanction  is  discussed — Discontent  of  the  university  of  Paris — Leo  X. 
endeavours  to  induce  Francis  to  undertake  a  crusade  against  the  Turks 
— The  Concordat  is  signed — Exultation  of  the  French  people — Ferdinand 
of  Aragon  endeavours  to  arouse  the  jealousy  of  Henry  VHL  against 
France — The  emperor  raises  a  powerful  army — Lautrec  besieges  Brescia, 
but  is  repulsed,  and  compelled  to  retire  to  Milan — The  Due  de  Bourbon 
destroys  the  faubourgs  of  the  city,  and  disbands  the  Swiss  troops — The 
emperor  threatens  to  raze  the  city  of  Milan — The  Swiss  refuse  to  act — 
Maximilian  escapes  by  night  from  the  camp — the  siege  of  Milan  is  raised 
— The  Swiss  troops  are  recalled  by  the  Diet — The  Imperialists  evacuate 
the  Milanese — Disgrace  of  Maximilian — Brescia  capitulates — Death  of 
Ferdinand  of  Aragon — He  bequeaths  his  kingdom  to  the  Archduke 
Charles — Francis  issues  several  edicts  which  are  unfavourably  received 
by  his  subjects — Arrogance  of  the  chancellor — Education  of  Charles  of 
Aragon — His  prospects — He  endeavours  to  conciliate  Francis — ^Jealousy 
of  M.  de  Chievres  against  the  Cardinal  Ximenes — Charles  sends  an 
ambassador  to  France — The  two  monarchs  enter  into  a  treaty  of  alliance 
— The  hand  of  the  infant  Princesse  Louise  promised  to  the  Spanish  king 
— The  peace  of  Noyon — Maximilian  accedes  to  the  treaty — State  of  the 
Venetian  territories — Francis  opens  a  negotiation  with  the  Helvetic 
States,  and  concludes  a  treaty  of  amity  with  Switzerland. 

Leo  X.,  versed  in  all  the  refinements  of  Italian 
policy,  abandoned  with  their  success  the  cause  of  his 
allies  ;  and  as  the  victory  of  Marignano  had  secured 
the  ascendency  of  Francis  in  Italy,  he  lost  no  time 
in  seeking  to  obtain  his  friendship.  A  nuncio 
was  despatched  immediately  that  the  result  of  the 
battle  became  known,  ostensibly  to  congratulate  the 


1 515-17        COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I  203 

French  monarch,  but  the  real  object  of  whose 
mission  was  to  propose  a  treaty,  by  which  the 
sovereign  pontiff  volunteered  to  relinquish  his  pre- 
tensions to  Parma  and  Piacenza,  and  to  withdraw 
the  papal  troops  which  were  serving  under  the  em- 
peror, on  condition  that,  as  a  compensation  for  these 
territories,  Bologna  should  be  ceded  to  him,  as  well 
as  a  monopoly  of  the  commerce  in  salt  from  Cervia. 
To  this  proposition  Francis  acceded,  and  the 
treaty  was  ratified  at  Viterbo  on  the  13th  of  October. 
The  two  forfeited  cities  opened  their  gates,  the  garri- 
sons marched  out,  and  they  were  left  at  the  disposal 
of  the  French.  In  the  second  clause  of  the  treaty 
Leo  was,  however,  less  honest ;  for  instead  of  re- 
calling the  troops  who  were  serving  under  the 
standard  of  Maximilian,  he  simply  disbanded  them, 
thus  leaving  each  individual  free  to  re-engage  him- 
self in  the  same  army,  while  he  acted  with  the  same 
prudent  reserve  when  proposing  to  Francis  that  ere 
he  left  Italy  they  should  meet  and  confer  together 
upon  such  subjects  as  might  concern  their  mutual 
interests.  Having  once  given  his  assent  to  this 
arrangement,  the  young  king  prepared  to  proceed  to 
Rome ;  but  the  wily  Pope  had  already  imbibed  a 
suspicion  that  the  conqueror  of  Marignano  had 
designs  against  Naples  ;  and,  resolved  not  to  smooth 
his  path  towards  this  new  object  of  ambition,  he 
affected  to  deprecate  the  idea  of  his  undergoing  the 
inconvenience  and  fatigue  which  such  a  journey 
must  involve,  and  suggested  Bologna  as  the  more 
desirable  point  of  meeting. 


204  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

Thither,  therefore,  Francis  repaired,  brilHantly 
attended,  and  was  met  on  the  confines  of  the  eccle- 
siastical states  by  a  body  of  thirty  cardinals,  who 
welcomed  him  with  every  demonstration  of  respect 
and  regard,  and  by  whom  he  was  at  once  conducted 
to  the  consistory  in  great  state,  in  order  that  he  might 
without  loss  of  time  pay  that  spiritual  homage  to  the 
pontiff  which  was  enforced  from  every  Christian 
monarch  by  whom  he  was  approached.  The  French 
king  entered  the  church  supported  by  two  cardinal- 
bishops,  and  followed  by  his  chancellor  and  barons, 
habited  in  vests  and  haut-de-chausses  of  cloth  of  gold; 
himself  holding  the  train  of  the  Pope's  robe  until  he 
approached  the  altar,  when  he  took  his  seat  upon  a  low 
stool  beside  him,  rising  and  kneeling  with  the  assem- 
bled cardinals.  When  the  pontiff  communicated,  the 
king  presented  the  water  and  napkin  with  which  he 
washed  his  hands  ;  while  the  former  was  warned  not 
to  raise  his  hand  to  his  cap,  as  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  doing  upon  such  occasions,  lest  the  action  should 
be  observed,  and  construed  into  an  intentional 
courtesy  towards  his  royal  assistant,  which  it  would 
be  indecorous  in  the  vicar  of  Christ  to  exhibit  in 
public  towards  any  temporal  monarch. 

The  great  ambition  of  Francis  having  been  for 
some  time  a  reconciliation  with  the  sovereign-pontiff, 
he  was  at  once  fascinated  by  the  urbane  bearing  and 
specious  sophistry  of  his  host,  who,  although  he  had 
nearly  reached  his  fortieth  year,  possessed  all  the 
tastes  and  habits  of  a  younger  man,  and,  enamoured 
rather  of  military  glory  than  ecclesiastical  probity. 


1 5 15-17  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  205 

Spent  his  life  in  dreams  of  conquest  and  a  round  of 
pleasure  and  dissipation.  Having  by  his  reckless 
extravagance  exhausted  the  immense  treasures 
accumulated  by  his  predecessor,  Leo  X.  was  desirous 
of  subjecting  additional  provinces  to  the  authority 
of  the  Holy  See,  in  order  that  he  might  be  enabled 
to  levy  new  tributes ;  and  he  accordingly  felt  it 
expedient  to  conciliate  his  most  dangerous  rival 
in  this  game  of  warfare  by  every  means  in  his 
power. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  brilliancy  of  the 
festivals  given  in  honour  of  the  young  conqueror. 
The  streets  through  which  he  passed  were  draped 
with  silks  and  tapestry,  and  strewn  with  leaves  and 
flowers ;  while,  equally  devoted  to  splendour  and 
pleasure,  the  two  potentates  passed  several  days 
in  the  most  magnificent  dissipation  before  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  more  serious  business  which  had 
induced  the  meeting. 

These  days  were  not,  however,  lost  to  the  crafty 
Leo,  who,  sufficiently  skilled  in  physiognomy  to 
discern  at  a  glance  the  principal  failing  of  his 
princely  guest,  assailed  him  by  an  excess  of  flattery 
which  he  was  constitutionally  unable  to  withstand  ; 
and,  this  point  gained,  induced  him  to  purchase  his 
reconciliation  with  the  Church  by  conditions  which 
were  degrading  alike  to  a  sovereign  and  a  con- 
queror. 

While  the  two  contracting  parties  formed  a  league 
of  strict  alliance,  not  only  between  themselves  person- 
ally, but  also  between  their  separate  states,  Francis,  in 


2o6  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

addition,  conceded  his  guarantee  of  protection  to  all 
the  ecclesiastical  possessions,  and  pledged  himself 
not  only  to  assist  the  Pope  to  recover  all  the  pro- 
perties of  the  Church  to  which  he  could  advance  a 
valid  right,  but  even  to  place  implicit  trust  in  the 
word  of  the  pontiff,  whenever  these  claims  might  be 
disputed.  He  likewise  promised  not  to  receive 
under  his  protection  any  vassal,  feudatory,  or  church- 
man of  his  holy  ally  who  might  have  rendered,  or 
should  hereafter  render,  himself  obnoxious  to  his 
spiritual  sovereign,  and  to  withdraw  his  favour  from 
all  such  as  he  should  have  already  provided  with 
an  asylum  in  France.  He  assured  to  the  Pope,  as 
we  have  stated,  the  commerce  in  salt,  which,  in 
point  of  fact,  secured  to  him  a  monopoly  of  the 
whole  trade  in  that  essential  article  throughout  the 
Milanese ;  and  promised  to  the  Florentine  republic, 
or,  in  other  words,  to  the  house  of  Medicis,  by 
whom  it  was  governed,  the  same  guarantees  as  to 
the  Church  itself ;  and  he  especially  pledged  himself 
to  support  the  power  of  Giuliano  and  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,  the  former  of  whom  had  been  constantly 
associated  in  all  public  measures  of  the  pontiff,  and 
to  grant  to  them  titles  of  honour  in  France  and 
large  pensions. 

Meanwhile,  in  return  for  all  these  important  con- 
cessions Leo  did  no  more  than  promise  to  support 
the  king  in  his  sovereignty  of  the  duchy  of  Milan, 
such  as  he  then  held  it ;  and  to  restore  the  cities  of 
Parma  and  Piacenza,  which  he  had  himself  detached 
from  that  province. 


IS  15-17  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  207 

Three  days  were  consumed  in  this  unequal,  and, 
to  Francis,  unfavourable  conference,  during  the 
course  of  which  the  Italian  pontiff  succeeded,  more- 
over, in  inducing  him  to  abandon  all  present  designs 
upon  Naples  ;  representing  to  him  that  the  health  of 
Ferdinand  was  becoming  sufficiently  precarious  to 
justify  the  anticipation  of  his  early  demise,  at  which 
period  he  should  himself  be  freed  from  his  engage- 
ments towards  that  monarch,  and  at  liberty  to  assist 
the  views  of  France.  Anxious  to  retain  the  newly 
acquired  friendship  of  the  Pope,  Francis  was  induced 
to  comply  with  this  request  also,  although  not  al- 
together unconditionally.  He  could  not  overlook 
the  fact  that  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  who  was  a 
feudatory  of  the  Holy  See,  had  forfeited,  through  his 
fidelity  to  his  own  cause,  the  territories  of  Modena 
and  Reggio  ;  or  that  the  Duke  of  Urbino,  a  kinsman 
of  the  previous  Pope,  had  been  deprived  of  the 
estates  which  he  held  of  the  see  of  Rome  for 
having  fought  throughout  the  recent  war  under  the 
French  banner,  and  he  accordingly  stipulated  that 
the  former  should  be  reinstated  in  his  possessions, 
and  the  domains  of  the  latter  restored  to  him. 

The  first  proposition  was,  after  some  difficulty, 
accepted  by  Leo  X.,  but  even  then  only  upon  the 
condition  that  he  should  personally  be  reimbursed  in 
certain  sums  which  he  declared  that  the  defalcation 
of  the  duke  had  caused  him  to  expend  ;  to  the  latter 
he  merely  replied  that  he  would  give  all  necessary 
consideration  to  the  subject ;  and  with  this  equivocal 
answer  Francis  suffered  himself  to  be  satisfied. 


2o8  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

The  question  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  involv- 
ing as  it  did  more  serious  and  important  conse- 
quences, was  deputed  to  the  investigation  and  discus- 
sion of  commissioners,  who  were  empowered  to 
examine  and  to  decide  upon  the  conflicting  interests 
which  must  be  affected  by  its  arrangement.  This 
was  ultimately  accomplished  by  a  mutual  concession, 
and  the  terms  being  carefully  arranged  and  specified, 
the  treaty  received  the  name  of  Concordat,  the  Pope 
granting  to  the  French  king  the  privilege  of  nominat- 
ing to  all  the  vacant  benefices  in  his  kingdom,  and 
Francis,  on  his  side,  engaging  to  pay  to  the  pontiff 
the  year's  revenue  of  benefices  so  bestowed. 

The  university  of  Paris,  however,  saw  with  a 
jealous  eye  the  project  of  an  arrangement  which 
annihilated  the  freedom  of  ecclesiastical  elections  ; 
and  refused  either  to  register  or  to  recognize  the 
right  of  the  monarch  thus  to  limit  the  powers  of  the 
Gallican  Church,  and  to  divert  its  revenues,  accusing 
him  of  having  bartered  its  unalienable  rights  in  order 
to  further  his  personal  interests.  Having,  by  an 
assembly  at  Bourges  in  1438,  liberated  themselves 
in  a  great  degree  from  all  interference  with  the 
internal  economy  of  their  Church  on  the  part 
of  the  Pope,  and  released  themselves  from  his 
exactions,  the  French  clergy  were  naturally  averse 
to  feel  the  yoke  of  papal  despotism  once  more  upon 
their  necks  ;  and  thus  this,  one  of  the  most  unpopular 
measures  of  Francis,  became  at  once  a  source  of 
heartburning  and  suspicion. 

The  next  attempt  of  the  wily  pontiff  was  to  in- 


15 1 5-1 7  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  2o9 

duce  the  young  sovereign  to  undertake  a  crusade 
against  the  Turks ;  a  project  which  he  considered 
as  eminently  suited  at  once  to  excite  the  ardent  and 
chivalrous  nature  of  Francis,  and  to  deliver  himself 
for  a  time  from  a  dangerous  neighbour ;  while  in 
order  the  more  to  please  his  fancy  and  to  arouse  his 
ambition  in  favour  of  such  an  expedition,  he  pro- 
posed to  bestow  upon  him  the  title  of  Emperor  of  the 
East.  Francis  accepted  the  courtesy,  but  regarded 
the  whole  transaction  as  nothing  more,  declining 
to  assume  a  dignity  which  he  was  conscious  that  his 
host  had  no  power  to  confer,  and  confining  his  ambi- 
tion to  other  and  more  feasible  enterprises.  Nor 
were  the  two  high  contracting  parties  the  only  ones 
who  were,  at  this  important  crisis,  occupied  in  the 
furtherance  of  their  individual  interests  at  Bologna. 
All  who  directly,  or  indirectly,  assisted  in  the  nego- 
tiations put  forth  their  several  claims  ;  money,  pen- 
sions, honours,  and  ecclesiastical  benefices  were 
lavishly  distributed  among  the  adherents  of  the 
Pope.  The  hand  of  Philiberte  de  Savoie,  the  sister 
of  Madame  d'Angouleme,  but  two  and  twenty  years 
her  junior,  was  promised  to  Giuliano  de'  Medici, 
with  the  duchy  of  Nemours  as  her  dowry ;  while 
Adrian  de  Boissy,  the  brother  of  the  grand-master, 
received  a  cardinal's  hat. 

Altogether  the  negotiations  became  ere  their 
close  so  lengthy  and  complicated  that  the  Concordat, 
by  which  they  were  finally  terminated,  was  not 
signed  until  the  i8th  of  August  15 16. 

The   conquest   of   Milan   assured,    and    that   of 
VOL.  I  14 


2IO  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

Naples  suspended  for  a  time,  Francis  proceeded  to 
disband  his  army,  retaining  only  seven  hundred 
lances,  six  thousand  lansquenets,  and  four  thousand 
Basques,  whom  he  placed  under  the  command  of 
the  Connetable  de  Bourbon,  as  his  lieutenant-general 
in  the  Milanese,  for  the  protection  of  that  duchy  ; 
and  he  then  departed  for  France,  where  he  arrived 
in  February  15 16,  and  was  welcomed  at  Lyons  by 
the  queen  and  the  duchess  his  mother,  surrounded 
by  a  brilliant  Court,  composed  of  all  that  was  fairest 
and  noblest  in  his  dominions. 

The  whole  kingdom  rang  with  acclamations.  All 
was  for  the  moment  at  peace  both  within  and  with- 
out, and  although  clouds  might  lower  upon  the 
political  horizon  they  had  not  yet  burst.  The  Swiss 
had  been  pacified,  if  not  thoroughly  conciliated,  by 
the  payment  of  their  claims ;  the  Venetians,  with 
the  assistance  of  Lautrec  and  his  little  army,  were 
still  occupied  in  endeavouring  to  repossess  them- 
selves of  their  former  territories ;  but  Francis  soon 
became  aware  that  Ferdinand,  alarmed  at  his  suc- 
cess, had  (feeble  and  failing  as  he  was)  endeavoured, 
with  a  view  of  distracting  his  attention  from  Naples, 
to  excite  against  him  the  jealousy  of  Henry  VIII., 
and  had  already  succeeded  in  forming  a  cabal  at  the 
English  Court,  with  the  assistance  of  Wolsey,  in 
which  the  French  monarch  was  accused  of  a  secret 
enniity  towards  England — an  intrigue  which  had 
already  attained  to  a  height  that  threatened  an 
approaching  war  between  the  two  powers.  This 
evil  was,  however,  averted  through  the  sound  judg- 


1515-17  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  211 

ment  and  good  policy  of  the  English  council ;  but 
Henry  had  been  sufficiently  prejudiced  by  the  repre- 
sentations that  were  made  to  him  to  furnish  the 
emperor  secretly  with  a  considerable  sum  of  money, 
in  order  to  assist  him  in  a  new  attempt  to  recover 
the  Milanese,  and  to  place  Francesco  Sforza,  the 
brother  of  Maximilian,  upon  the  ducal  throne. 

The  subsidies  which  he  had  recently  received 
from  both  Henry  VHI.  and  Ferdinand,  and  which 
he  had  not  yet  dissipated,  enabled  the  emperor  to 
raise  a  formidable  army  of  sixteen  thousand  German 
cavalry,  fifteen  thousand  Swiss,  and  ten  thousand 
Spanish  foot-soldiers.  The  French  troops,  under 
Lautrec,  were  at  that  period  (March  15 16)  besieging 
Brescia,  in  conjunction  with  the  Venetians,  and  con- 
sidered themselves  secure  of  taking  the  city,  the 
garrison  having  determined  to  surrender  in  thirty 
days,  should  they  not  receive  succour  from  without. 
Before  that  time  had  elapsed,  however,  a  force  of 
six  thousand  Germans  succeeded  in  introducing 
themselves  into  the  fortress,  while  the  emperor 
appeared  in  the  field  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and 
the  besiegers  found  themselves  compelled  to  re- 
treat, first  beyond  the  Mincio,  and  subsequently  to 
abandon  not  only  that  river  but  also  those  of  the 
Oglio  and  Adda,  and  to  shut  themselves  up  in 
Milan,  which  the  Due  de  Bourbon  hastily  fortified 
as  well  as  circumstances  would  permit,  destroy- 
ing for  that  purpose  the  extensive  and  populous 
faubourgs. 

Fortunately  for  the  French,  Maximilian  did  not 


212  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

pursue  his  advantage  with  the  promptitude  which 
would  have  ensured  his  ultimate  success ;  and  time 
was  accordingly  secured  for  the  arrival  of  a  re- 
inforcement of  thirteen  thousand  Swiss,  raised  by 
Albert  de  la  Pierre  in  the  eight  cantons  which  had 
accepted  the  peace  proffered  by  Francis  I.  the  pre- 
ceding year,  as  well  as  of  a  considerable  body  of 
troops  from  France.  The  former,  however,  were 
not  destined  to  prove  serviceable  to  Bourbon,  the 
influence  of  the  Bishop  of  Sion,  who  was  in  the 
enemy's  camp,  being  once  more  exerted  to  separate 
them  from  the  cause  of  France,  in  which  he  so  far 
succeeded  as  to  induce  them  to  declare  that  they 
would  not  take  the  field  against  their  own  country- 
men. In  vain  did  the  duke  expostulate,  they  re- 
mained firm  in  their  determination,  and  he  at  length 
indignantly  disbanded  the  whole  force  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  company  commanded  by  Albert  de  la 
Pierre,  which  also  stipulated  that  it  should  only  be 
employed  against  the  Germans,  and  the  army  of 
mercenaries  marched  out  of  the  garrison — an  event 
which  greatly  rejoiced  the  emperor,  who  now  con- 
ceived the  success  of  his  enterprise  secure,  and  sat 
down  before  Milan,  declaring  that  he  would  raze 
the  city  to  the  earth  and  strew  its  site  with  salt 
unless  it  instantly  capitulated. 

This  threat  was,  however,  disregarded  by  the 
French  general,  and  the  siege  proceeded ;  but  un- 
fortunately for  Maximilian,  the  Genoese  bankers,  to 
whom  Henry  VIII.  had  confided  the  sum  promised 
to  the  emperor,  having  failed  before  it  was  trans- 


1515-17  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  213 

mitted,  he  found  himself  unable  to  fulfil  his  engage- 
ments with  his  mercenary  allies,  who  began  to 
murmur,  and  to  demand  the  immediate  payment  of 
their  stipends.  Maximilian  strove  to  pacify  them 
by  promises,  but  they  had  already  experienced  the 
fallacy  of  similar  pledges  upon  his  part,  and  refused 
to  listen  to  any  compromise.  He  pointed  to  Milan, 
the  plunder  of  which  city  would,  as  he  anticipated, 
shortly  enable  him  to  pay  up  the  arrears  of  his  whole 
army ;  but  the  Swiss  reminded  him  that  the  town 
was  not  yet  taken,  and,  with  the  knowledge  of 
his  helplessness,  their  insolence  soon  exceeded  all 
bounds,  and  they  threatened,  should  he  not  satisfy 
their  claims  upon  the  instant,  to  offer  themselves  in 
a  body  to  the  Connetable  de  Bourbon,  by  whom 
they  should  be  paid  for  their  services.  In  this  strait 
Maximilian  found  himself  compelled  to  send  sixteen 
thousand  crowns  to  their  leaders,  by  the  Cardinal  of 
Sion,  desiring  him  to  assure  them  that  he  would 
immediately  proceed  to  Trent  to  obtain  a  further 
supply  in  order  to  liquidate  all  their  claims ;  but 
this  was  no  sooner  done  than,  fearing  he  should  in 
his  turn  be  abandoned,  or  even  delivered  over  to  his 
enemies,  as  Ludovico  Sforza  had  formerly  been  by 
these  very  troops,  he  left  the  camp  in  the  night, 
accompanied  only  by  two  hundred  horsemen,  and 
escaped  into  Germany,  leaving  his  army  without  a 
leader. 

His  flight  was  no  sooner  ascertained  than  the 
troops  disbanded  themselves,  the  siege  of  Milan 
was  raised,  and  a  few  days  subsequently  the  Swiss 


214  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

of  both  armies  received  an  order  from  the  diet 
immediately  to  return  home,  which  they  obeyed  in 
their  usual  manner,  plundering,  as  they  went,  every 
town  and  village  which  was  not  strong  enough  to 
venture  upon  resistance,  and  thus  indemnifying 
themselves  for  the  non-payment  of  their  salary. 
About  three  thousand  German  and  Spanish  merce- 
naries joined  the  army  of  the  Due  de  Bourbon, 
while  the  confederated  troops  retired  rapidly  from 
the  country,  harassed  in  their  retreat  by  the  French, 
whom  they  left  once  more  in  undisputed  possession 
of  the  Milanese ;  and  Maximilian  found  himself  in 
ignoble  security,  having  forfeited  the  military  repu- 
tation which  he  had  acquired  in  his  youth  by  a 
pusillanimity  perhaps  unequalled. 

Brescia  was  once  more  besieged  and  capitulated, 
but  Verona  still  refused  to  admit  the  French  troops, 
and  as  its  means  of  defence  were  great,  and  the 
abilities  of  its  military  governor  Antonio  Colonna^ 
well  known,  the  siege  promised  to  become  intermin- 
able. At  this  particular  period  the  death  of  Ferdi- 
nand of  Aragon  delivered  France  from  her  most 
formidable  enemy,  and  removed  from  the  path  of 
Francis  himself  the  only  monarch  whose  long  ex- 
perience, subtle  arts,  and  numerous  resources  he 
had  reason  to  apprehend. 

Contrary  to  the  previsions  of  all  around  him,  who 
were  aware  of  his  jealousy  of  his  grandson  Charles, 

1  Marco-Antonio  Colonna  distinguished  himself  greatly  in  the 
wars  of  Italy  against  the  French,  to  which  cause  he  was,  however, 
subsequently  won  over  by  Francis  I.  He  was  killed  at  the  siege  of 
Milan  in  1522,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine  years. 


15 15-17  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  215 

and  equally  at  variance  with  his  previous  resolve, 
which  had  been  to  constitute  the  younger  of  the 
brothers  heir  to  the  crown,  only  on  the  day  which 
preceded  his  death  Ferdinand  had  executed  a  new 
^yill,  by  which  he  bequeathed  his  kingdom  to  the 
elder — an  act  of  justice  which  had  been  reluctantly 
wrung  from  him  even  at  the  eleventh  hour  by  his 
most  faithful  counsellors,  who  had  induced  him  thus 
to  gainsay  his  own  wishes  by  representing  that  as 
Charles  was  already  heir-apparent  to  the  throne  of 
Austria,  the  union  of  that  kingdom  with  the  crown 
of  Spain  would  tend  to  weaken  the  power  of  France 
— a  consideration  which  absorbed  all  others.  Thus 
the  accession  of  the  Archduke  Charles  united  under 
one  sovereign  the  Netherlands  and  Franche-Comte, 
the  kingdoms  of  Castile,  Aragon,  and  Naples,  with 
the  newly-discovered  treasures  of  the  western  world ; 
but  that  sovereign  had  as  yet  scarcely  emerged  from 
boyhood  ;  his  dominions  lay  distant  and  disjointed  ; 
the  various  people  over  whom  he  was  called  upon  to 
rule  were  unconnected  by  laws,  by  customs,  and  by 
language,  and  regarded  each  other  with  jealousy  and 
distrust ;  while  many  of  the  states,  attached  to  their 
ancient  rights  and  privileges,  and  apprehensive  of 
their  subversion,  were  inimical  to  his  interests,  and 
considered  Francis  as  their  most  natural  ally. 
Nevertheless  the  French  king  suffered  the  favour- 
able moment  to  escape  him,  and  even  while  he  fore- 
saw the  gathering  storm  neglected  the  measures  by 
which  it  would  probably  have  been  averted,  and 
instead  of  attacking  the  infant  power  of  his  rival. 


2i6  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  vii 

permitted  it  peaceably  to  attain  to  maturity  and 
strength,  trusting  to  the  delusive  arts  of  negotiation 
to  effect  that  which  a  wiser  policy  might  have  com- 
pelled. 

Thus,  while  the  evil  gained  ground  apparently 
unappreciated,  Francis,  withdrawing  his  attention 
from  subjects  of  more  vital  importance,  turned  it 
upon  the  internal  organization  of  the  kingdom,  and 
profited  by  the  momentary  calm  to  issue  several 
new  ordinances,  some  of  which  were  highly  unpalat- 
able to  his  subjects.  His  first  edict,  prompted  by 
Duprat,  had  already  awakened  murmurs  which,  al- 
though ultimately  silenced,  were  not  altogether  sup- 
pressed ;  but  in  March  1516  he  published  a  new 
ordinance  at  Lyons,  purporting  to  protect  the  forest- 
rights  of  himself  and  his  nobles,  which  roused  the 
indignation  of  both  parliament  and  people.  "  The 
young  king,"  says  Isambert,  "  angered  by  the  fact 
that  many  persons,  not  having  the  right  of  chase,  do 
take  certain  brown  and  black  animals,  such  as  hares, 
pheasants,  partridges,  and  other  game,  thus  com- 
mitting felony  and  impeding  and  curtailing  our 
pastime,"  fulminated  the  most  severe  threats  against 
all  poachers  and  unlicensed  sportsmen,  condemning 
them,  according  to  the  flagrancy  of  their  crime,  to 
fines,  floggings,  banishment  under  pain  of  the  gibbet, 
confiscation  of  property,  the  galleys,  and  even  death 
itself.  He,  moreover,  inflicted  severe  punishment 
on  those  who,  within  the  limits  of  the  royal  forests, 
possessed  arms  suited  either  to  war  or  sport ;  and, 
finally,  he   gave   to  all    the   princes  of  the  blood, 


1515-17  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  217 

nobles,  and  proprietors  of  forest  lands  or  warrens 
throughout  the  kingdom,  the  right  of  maintain- 
ing the  exclusive  privilege  of  sporting  upon 
their  property,  which  was  guaranteed  to  them 
by  punishments  equally  severe  against  all  in- 
truders. 

The  parliament  at  once  refused  to  register  such 
an  ordinance,  and  presented  a  remonstrance  to  the 
monarch,  entreating  him  to  mitigate  the  extreme 
stringency  of  this  new  edict,  which  must  tend  to 
exasperate  such  of  his  faithful  subjects  as  not  only 
paid  the  tax,  but  also  supported  all  the  burthen  of 
the  state.  Its  representations  were,  however,  re- 
ceived with  indifference  and  disregard,  and  the 
chancellor  declared  that  the  king  was  both  in- 
dignant and  surprised  that  the  parliament  should 
presume  to  oppose  his  will,  when  it  must  be  aware 
that  the  sovereign  alone  had  the  right  to  regulate 
the  administration  of  his  kingdom.  "  Obey,"  he 
concluded,  "  or  the  king  will  recognize  in  you  only 
rebels,  whom  he  will  punish  like  the  meanest  of  his 
subjects."  The  parliament  neverthless  resisted 
during  twelve  months,  but  at  the  termination  of 
that  period  the  unrighteous  ordinance  was  regis- 
tered. 

Charles  had  scarcely  attained  his  sixteenth  year 
when  he  succeeded  to  the  Spanish  crown,  but,  young 
as  he  was,  the  rigid  training  to  which  he  had  been 
subjected  by  the  prudent  foresight  of  his  governor, 
M.  de  Chievres,  had  long  accustomed  him  to  the 
transaction  of  public  business  and  the  duties  of  a 


2l8  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

monarch.  Every  despatch  which  arrived  from  the 
provinces,  even  during  the  course  of  the  night,  was 
immediately  presented  to  him,  and  when  he  had 
informed  himself  of  its  contents  he  personally  com- 
municated them  to  his  council,  where  they  were 
discussed  in  his  presence.  A  remonstrance  having 
been  made  to  the  Seigneur  de  Chievres  on  this  sub- 
ject upon  one  occasion  by  the  French  ambassador, 
who  testified  his  surprise  that  he  should  inflict  such 
an  amount  of  tedious  and  frequently  untimely  labour 
upon  a  mere  boy  when  he  might  so  easily  relieve 
him  from  it,  the  wise  preceptor  replied  firmly  : 
"  Cousin,  I  am  the  tutor  and  guardian  of  his  youth, 
and  I  wish  that  when  I  die  he  may  be  independent 
of  all  extraneous  help ;  whereas,  if  he  were  un- 
acquainted with  public  business,  he  must,  after  my 
decease,  have  a  new  guardian,  from  his  ignorance  of 
his  own  affairs." 

Thus,  even  from  his  boyhood,  Charles  had  ac- 
quired habits  of  thoughtfulness  and  foresight  which 
gave  him  throughout  his  whole  life  a  great  advantage 
over  the  volatile  and  romantic  Francis  I.,  who  seldom 
suffered  more  serious  subjects  to  interfere  with  his 
personal  gratification.  The  moment  of  his  accession 
was,  however,  critical ;  he  had  to  fear  that  Spain 
would  persist  in  bestowing  her  dual  crown  upon  his 
younger  brother  Ferdinand,  who,  unlike  himself,  had 
been  entirely  educated  under  the  eye  of  the  late 
king,  and  who  had  long  been  regarded  as  his 
destined  successor.  By  the  will  so  tardily  destroyed 
the  junior  prince  had  been  declared  grand-master  of 


15 1 5-1 7  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  219 

the  military  orders  of  Spain,  and  endowed  with 
revenues  and  power  well  constituted  to  render  him 
an  effective  leader  in  any  civil  contention ;  and  a 
cabal  existed  in  Aragon  in  favour  of  his  claims  to 
the  sovereignty  which  he  had  been  led  to  expect, 
while  even  in  Castile  doubts  were  expressed  as  to 
the  right  of  Charles  to  assume  the  crown  before  the 
death  of  his  mother,  whose  hopeless  derangement 
nevertheless  precluded  her  from  ascending  the 
throne. 

At  the  decease  of  Ferdinand  Charles  was  in 
Flanders,  and,  although  naturally  desirous  to  take 
possession  of  his  new  dominions,  he  was  detained 
by  powerful  obstacles  in  the  Low  Countries.  The 
war  in  Italy  was  not  yet  terminated,  and,  with  the 
crown  of  his  grandfather,  the  young  king  inherited 
his  love  of  enterprise  and  thirst  for  conquest,  but  he 
could  not  inspire  the  Flemish  people  with  his  mili- 
tary ardour ;  they  shrank,  on  the  contrary,  from  a 
prospect  of  hostilities  with  France  which  must  tend 
to  injure  their  commercial  interests,  and  Charles  was 
not  in  a  position  to  enforce  his  views.  He  had, 
therefore,  no  alternative  save  to  seek  the  friendship 
and  alliance  of  Francis,  to  which  he  was  urged  by  the 
representations  of  M.  de  Chievres,  who  impressed 
upon  him  the  imperative  necessity  of  conciliating 
his  new  subjects  before  he  attempted  any  foreign 
aggression ;  the  Cardinal  Xim^nes,  Archbishop  of 
Toledo,^  who  had,  by  the  will  of  the  late  king,  been 

1  Don  Francisco  Ximen^s  was  bom  at  Torrelaguna,  in  Old 
Castile,  in   1437,  and  studied  at  Alcala  and  Salamanca,  where  he 


220  THE    COURT  AND   REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

appointed  regent  of  the  kingdom  until  the  arrival  of 
his  grandson,  having,  despite  his  great  age,  rigor- 
ously commenced  the  discharge  of  his  trust,  and 
already  begun  to  interfere  with  the  privileges  of  the 
nobles,  and  to  enhance  those  of  the  citizens  and 
municipalities.  Moreover,  M.  de  Chievres  was 
anxious  to  avoid,  so  far  as  it  might  be  practicable, 
any  familiar  intercourse  between  his  royal  pupil  and 
the  powerful  prelate  of  whose  influence  he  was  appre- 
hensive. Thus  Charles  upon  his  accession  found 
himself  surrounded  by  difficulties,  and  at  once 
became  aware  that  his  wisest  policy  would  be  to 
conciliate  the  friendship  of  France,  and  thus  secure 
an  efficient  ally  in  case  of  need,  as  well  as  a  safe 
passage  into  Spain. 

To  effect  this  important  object  Charles  despatched 
the  Sire  de  Ravenstein  as  his  ambassador  to  the 
French  Court,  who,  on  the  part  of  his  master,  re- 

afterwards  became  a  tutor  of  laws.  He  then  obtained  a  canoniy  in 
the  diocese  of  Siguenza,  and  subsequently  the  post  of  Grand-Vicar. 
Disgusted  with  the  world,  he  first  took  the  vows  as  a  Cordelier  in 
the  convent  of  Toledo,  but,  still  dissatisfied  with  the  enforced  contact 
with  his  fellow-men,  he  withdrew  from  the  cloister  to  the  solitude  of 
Castanel.  Isabella  the  Catholic,  hearing  the  report  of  his  talents 
and  austerities,  selected  him  as  her  confessor,  and  in  1495  presented 
him  with  the  archbishopric  of  Toledo.  Julius  II.  afterwards  called 
him  to  the  conclave,  and  Ferdinand  in  his  turn  confided  to  him  the 
administration  of  public  affairs.  Ximdnes  then  resolved  to  engage 
in  an  African  war,  and  himself  headed  the  troops,  and  took  Oran  in 
I  509.  Ferdinand,  when  dying,  appointed  him,  as  we  have  shown, 
regent  of  the  kingdom  of  Castile  (i  516).  In  this  capacity  he  reduced 
to  obedience  the  haughty  nobility  who  refused  to  recognize  Charles 
V.  as  their  king ;  and,  in  order  to  humble  them  further,  he  permitted 
the  citizens  to  bear  arms,  and  accorded  to  them  numerous  privileges. 
He  reformed  and  reorganized  the  governments  of  the  towns,  armies, 
and  monasteries,  and  punished  with  great  severity  both  theft  and 
assassination.      He  died  in  15  17. 


15 15-17  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  221 

quested  Francis  to  appoint  some  convenient  spot 
where  the  delegates  of  the  two  sovereigns  might 
confer  together,  for  the  purpose  of  terminating  any 
differences  which  existed  either  between  themselves  or 
their  allies.  The  proposal  was  an  acceptable  one  to 
the  French  king,  who  on  his  side  was  desirous  to 
establish  by  a  peace  his  recent  conquests  in  Italy ; 
and  accordingly  commissioners  were  appointed  in 
the  persons  of  Artur  Gouffier,  Seigneur  de  Boissy, 
and  Antoine  de  Croy,  Seigneur  de  Chievres,  the  ex- 
governors  of  the  two  young  monarchs,  while  Noyon 
was  selected  as  their  place  of  meeting. 

On  the  I  St  of  August  they  entered  the  city;  and 
on  the  13th  of  the  same  month  a  treaty  of  alliance 
between  Charles  and  Francis  was  signed,  by  which 
they  separately  bound  themselves  to  assist  each 
other,  not  only  in  reciprocal  defence,  but  also  in  the 
attainment  of  such  conquests  as  they  might  legiti- 
mately attempt.  The  question  still  pending  on  the 
subject  of  Navarre  was  arranged  by  the  pledge  of 
M.  de  Chievres  that  Charles  should,  so  soon  as  he 
had  secured  peaceable  possession  of  the  Spanish 
crown,  carefully  investigate  the  claims  of  Henri 
d'Albret,^  and  render  him  ample  justice ;  or  that 
Francis  should  be  left  free  to  give  him  whatever 
assistance  he  might  deem  fitting.  The  pretensions 
of  the  French  king  to  Naples,  based  upon  the 
treaty  of  Ferdinand  on  his  marriage  with  Ger- 
maine  de  Foix,  were  undeniable,  and  consequently 

1  Henri  d'Albret  II.,  King  of  Navarre,  and  Comte  de  Foix.     He 
died  in  1555. 


222  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

engaged  the  more  serious  attention  of  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries, by  whom  it  was  ultimately  decided  that  in 
order  to  reconcile  the  interests  of  the  two  sovereigns 
Charles  should  pledge  himself  to  espouse  the  infant 
Princesse  Louise,  the  daughter  of  Francis,  then 
about  twelve  months  old,  receiving  as  her  dowry 
all  the  claims  of  her  father  to  the  Neapolitan  domin- 
ions ;  but  as  it  was  stipulated  that  the  baby-bride 
should  remain  under  the  guardianship  of  Queen 
Claude  until  her  eighth  year,  and  that  the  marriage 
should  not  be  solemnized  until  she  had  attained  her 
twelfth,  Charles,  who  was  at  that  moment  in  posses- 
sion of  Naples,  was  to  pay  the  annual  sum  of  a 
hundred  thousand  crowns  to  the  King  of  France 
until  the  period  of  the  union ;  and  one -half  the 
amount  yearly,  so  long  as  the  princess  should  con- 
tinue childless. 

Such  were  the  conditions  of  the  peace  of  Noyon, 
which  afforded  a  transient  season  of  repose  to  the 
respective  subjects  of  both  potentates,  and  was 
accordingly  welcome  to  all ;  but  it  is  nevertheless 
certain  that  the  more  able  diplomacy  of  M.  de 
Chievres  had  rendered  the  treaty  infinitely  more 
favourable  to  his  master  than  it  would  have  been 
had  the  actual  position  of  Francis  been  brought 
more  skilfully  to  bear  upon  the  several  questions  at 
issue.  Charles  could  command  no  sure  ingress  to 
his  Spanish  territories ;  party  spirit  was  strong 
against  him ;  he  was  inexperienced  in  war,  and  had 
yet  to  establish  the  reputation  as  a  soldier  which 
Francis  had  already  acquired ;  while  even  his  claim 


IS  15-17  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  223 

Upon  Naples  was  a  divided  one.  Yet  no  real  advan- 
tage was  secured  to  the  French  king  by  the  league 
into  which  he  had  just  entered  ;  the  project  of  mar- 
riage was  a  mere  chimera,  advanced  as  a  pretext 
rather  than  considered  as  a  condition,  which,  how- 
ever well  it  served  to  disguise  the  fact  that  Charles 
was  in  truth  paying,  or  about  to  pay,  an  annual  tribute 
to  his  brother-monarch  for  that  moiety  of  the  crown 
of  Naples  which  was  thus  ceded  to  him,  by  no  means 
enhanced  the  interests  of  Francis,  to  whom  such  an 
equivalent  was  altogether  inadequate.  The  Navar- 
rese  question,  moreover,  was  virtually  still  as  un- 
decided as  ever ;  for  while  Charles  had  bound  him- 
self vaguely  to  see  justice  done,  he  had  been  careful 
not  to  specify  any  particular  point  upon  which  his 
intentions  might  at  once  be  brought  to  bear ;  while 
Francis  had  retained  his  right,  in  the  event  of  this 
not  being  accomplished,  not  only  to  assist  the 
interests  of  the  queen  of  Navarre  against  Charles 
himself,  but  even  to  uphold  the  Venetians  in  their 
opposition  to  Maximilian. 

As  this  latter  privilege,  however,  threatened  to 
overthrow  the  designs  of  Charles,  he  prevailed  upon 
the  emperor  to  join  in  the  league ;  and  his  imperial 
majesty  was  induced  to  acquiesce  in  the  suggestion 
by  the  offer  of  a  hundred  thousand  crowns  from  the 
state  of  Venice,  and  a  conviction  that  Verona  could 
not  longer  resist  the  combined  attacks  of  the  army 
of  Lautrec,  and  the  famine  by  which  the  garrison 
was  already  exposed  to  great  and  hopeless  privations. 
The  accession  of  Maximilian  to  the  treaty  hushed 


224  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  viii 

the  tempest  of  war  which  had  so  long  agitated 
Europe  ;  for  although  Francis  restored  the  evacuated 
city  to  the  Venetians,  who  once  more  saw  themselves 
in  possession  of  nearly  all  the  provinces  which  Louis 
XII.  had  endeavoured  to  wrench  from  them  in  1508, 
they  were  still  so  despoiled  and  depopulated  that 
they  were  deprived  of  all  the  elements  of  self-defence ; 
while  the  continued  animosity  of  the  Swiss  towards 
France  had  weakened  the  resources  of  Francis  him- 
self,— a  fact  of  which  he  was  so  well  aware  that  the 
league  was  no  sooner  formally  completed  than  he 
took  instant  measures  to  conciliate  all  the  neighbour- 
ing nations ;  and  despatched  his  uncle,  the  Bastard 
of  Savoy,  Louis  de  Forbins,  and  Charles  du  Plessis 
to  Fribourg,  to  open  a  fresh  negotiation  with  the 
whole  Helvetic  body,  and  to  propose  to  them  an 
extension  of  the  peace  which  had  been  concluded 
between  himself  and  eight  of  their  cantons  during 
the  previous  year.  This  treaty  of  "  perpetual  amity  " 
between  France  and  Switzerland  was  discussed, 
framed,  and  signed  on  the  29th  of  November  1517  ; 
and  the  pledge  then  given  by  the  Swiss  never  again  to 
bear  arms  against  the  French  was  strictly  observed, 
save  in  the  case  of  a  few  adventurers,  who,  incited  by 
the  prospect  of  greater  gain,  or  influenced  by  the  vio- 
lent and  undying  hatred  of  the  Cardinal  of  Sion,  oc- 
casionally enrolled  themselves  in  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy. 

By  the  same  document  the  Swiss  recognized  the 
claim  of  Francis  I.  to  the  Milanese  ;  while  he  agreed 
to  accord  a  free  amnesty  to  all  the  natives  of  that 


1515-17  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  225 

province  who  had  taken  refuge  in  Switzerland,  and 
to  pay  off  the  demands  of  the  troops  for  past  services 
by  the  sum  of  seven  hundred  thousand  golden 
crowns,  with  other  donations  and  privileges,  which 
were  all  clearly  defined. 


VOL.  I  15 


CHAPTER    IX 

1515-17 

Domestic  life  of  Francis — The  Court  of  Queen  Claude — Anticipated  birth  of  a 
dauphin — Circle  of  Madame  d'Angouleme — Licentiousness  of  the  young 
king — He  resolves  to  form  a  distinct  Court — The  Comtesse  de  Chateau- 
briand— Her  birth  and  girlhood — Her  marriage — The  count  is  summoned 
to  Court — His  forebodings — The  mystic  rings — Mistaken  confidence — 
Reception  of  the  count  by  Francis — Treachery  of  a  confidant — The 
countess  arrives  at  Chambord — Displeasure  of  her  husband — A  misunder- 
standing— The  queen's  reception — Presentation  of  the  countess  to  the 
king — The  queen  and  the  countess — Mistaken  violence  of  M.  de  Chateau- 
briand— The  influence  of  a  Court  atmosphere — Policy  of  Louise  de  Savoie 
— M.  de  Chateaubriand  retires  from  the  Court. 

Thus  far  the  rapid  march  of  more  important  events 
has  compelled  us  to  pass  over  in  silence  the  domes- 
tic, or  rather  the  private,  avocations  of  Francis,  who, 
finding  himself  at  length  enabled  by  a  temporary- 
peace  to  indulge  in  those  libertine  pursuits  to  which 
he  was  so  painfully  addicted,  soon  wearied  of  the 
staid  and  rigorous  circle  which  his  virtuous  queen 
had  gathered  about  her,  as  well  as  of  the  strict  re- 
tirement to  which  she  was  at  this  moment  compelled 
by  the  delicate  condition  of  her  health,  which  gave 
renewed  hope  of  the  birth  of  a  dauphin ;  and  for  a 
time  he  passed  all  his  leisure  hours  in  the  lighter 
Court  of  his  mother,  where  beauty  and  licentiousness 
alike  attracted  him.     Unlike  Anne  de  Bretagne,  who 


.1515-17         COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I  227 

had  Stringently  discountenanced  the  presence  of  ladies 
at  the  public  festivities,  and  only  suffered  them  to 
appear  upon  occasions  of  ceremony,  where  they  might 
serve  to  enhance  her  own  dignity  and  that  of  the  royal 
circle,  Madame  d'Angouleme  had  urged  upon  her  son 
the  expediency  of  including  them  in  all  the  amuse- 
ments and  pageantries  which  were  constantly  recur- 
ring, and  of  permitting  them  to  assume  their  station 
as  an  integral  portion  of  his  Court — a  recommendation 
to  which  he  at  once  gave  his  unhesitating  assent ;  and 
thus  the  wives  and  daughters  of  all  the  principal 
nobility  found  themselves  emancipated  from  the 
shackles  of  that  severe  etiquette  to  which  they  had 
previously  been  subjected,  and  unfortunately  soon 
overstepped  in  their  pride  of  freedom  the  limits  of 
that  decorum  which  should  have  been  their  greatest 
charm. 

Soon,  however,  the  young  monarch  wearied  of 
the  fair  and  frail  beauties  of  his  mother's  circle,  and 
aspired  to  still  wider  conquests.  It  did  not  suffice 
that  he  had  sacrificed  the  honour  and  blighted  the 
home  happiness  of  many  of  the  brave  men  who  had 
fought  beside  him ;  France  still  contained  much  that 
was  at  once  lovely  and  high  born ;  and  he  ere  long 
resolved  to  form  a  Court  for  himself  which  should 
surpass  all  those  of  the  rest  of  Europe,  alike  in  grace 
and  magnificence,  and  in  which  women  should  reign 
supreme  ;  declaring  that  a  "  Court  without  ladies  was 
a  year  without  a  spring,  or  rather  a  spring  without 
roses." 

In  furtherance  of  this  design  he  summoned  about 


228  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ix 

him  all  the  wealthy  nobles  who  habitually  resided  in 
their  ancestral  castles,  and  who  eagerly  responded  to 
the  call  of  their  sovereign,  and  arrived  at  Amboise 
accompanied  by  the  females  of  their  families,  many 
of  whom  were  both  beautiful  and  accomplished,  and 
all  flattered  by  so  signal  a  mark  of  royal  favour. 
One,  however,  failed  him  ;  and  that  one  was  pre- 
cisely the  individual  whom  he  had  been  the  most 
anxious  to  attract — the  young  and  brilliant  Fran9oise 
de  Foix,  Conitesse  de  Chateaubriand,  whose  extra- 
ordinary attractions,  despite  the  retirement  in  which 
she  lived,  had  been  a  frequent  subject  of  discourse 
among  his  courtiers. 

This  beautiful  woman  was  the  daughter  of 
Phebus  de  Foix,  Vicomte  de  Lautrec,  and  of 
Jeanne  d'Aydie,  elder  daughter  and  heiress  of 
Odet  d'Aydie,  Comte  de  Comminges,  and  was  born 
about  the  year  1495.  The  family  of  Foix  was 
both  ancient  and  illustrious,  and  recognized  no 
superiors  save  the  princes  of  the  blood,  although 
so  much  impoverished  from  the  number  of  its  male 
descendants  as  to  leave  the  lovely  and  only  daughter 
of  the  house  without  a  portion  consistent  with  her 
rank.  Her  extreme  beauty,  however,  sufficed  to 
overrule  even  this  consideration,  so  important  in  all 
ages  to  eligible  marriage  in  France,  and  brought  to 
her  feet  the  young  and  accomplished  Jean  de  Laval 
de  Montmorency,  Seigneur  de  Chateaubriand,  when 
she  had  barely  attained  her  fourteenth  year.  In 
1509  she  became  his  wife,  and,  happy  in  a  union 
which  left  her  young  and  affectionate  nature  nothing 


15 1 5-1 7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  229 

to  desire,  accompanied  him  to  his  castle  in  Brittany, 
where  she  passed  the  first  period  of  her  wedded  Hfe 
in  peace  and  seclusion,  without  a  wish  or  a  care 
beyond  the  narrow  circle  of  her  home. 

This  tranquillity  was  not,  however,  destined  to 
endure.  The  Comte  de  Chateaubriand  could  not 
evade  compliance  with  the  expressed  will  of  his 
sovereign  ;  but,  tenderly  attached  to  his  young  wife, 
he  was  anxious,  before  he  suffered  her  to  appear  in 
the  circle  of  the  king,  to  form  his  own  judgment  as 
to  the  safety  with  which  he  might  permit  her  pre- 
sentation. The  known  morals  of  Francis  I.  were 
not  calculated  to  inspire  confidence,  and  in  the  fair 
and  graceful  and  gifted  partner  of  his  home  the 
count  had  garnered  up  his  all  of  hope  and  happiness. 
Thus  then  he  revolved  in  his  mind,  with  all  the 
jealousy  of  deep  affection,  every  method  by  which 
he  might  secure  to  himself  the  treasure  of  whose 
value  he  was  so  keenly  conscious  ;  and  so  great  was 
his  apprehension  that  some  of  the  profligate  com- 
panions of  the  king  might  devise  a  method  of  wiling 
his  wife  to  Court  that  he  finally  decided  upon  causing 
two  rings  of  curious  workmanship  to  be  made,  pre- 
cisely similar,  and  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  he 
placed  one  of  them  upon  her  finger,  which  he 
enjoined  her  carefully  to  examine,  and  on  no  account 
to  follow  him  to  Amboise,  even  should  he  write  and 
direct  her  to  do  so,  unless  the  letter  contained 
another  precisely  similar.  The  young  countess, 
overwhelmed  by  grief  at  his  departure,  totally  un- 
acquainted   with    the    Court,    and    desirous   of    no 


230  THE    COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ix 

greater  splendour  than  that  by  which  she  was 
already  surrounded,  at  once  promised  obedience  ; 
and  M.  de  Chateaubriand,  saddened  by  her  tearful 
caresses,  and  satisfied  that  he  had  made  "assurance 
doubly  sure,"  at  length  tore  himself  from  her  en- 
circling arms,  and,  leaving  her  to  preside  over  his 
stately  and  gloomy  castle,  proceeded  on  his  ill- 
omened  journey. 

Unfortunately  for  the  count  his  heart  was  too  full 
to  be  subservient  to  his  reason,  and  as  he  saw  the 
distance  increase  between  himself  and  the  beautiful 
young  creature  who  had  so  lately  wept  upon  his 
bosom,  his  caution  gave  way  before  his  jealousy, 
and  he  entrusted  his  secret  to  an  old  servant,  of 
whose  fidelity  he  believed  himself  secure.  On  his 
arrival  at  Amboise  he  was  courteously  received  by 
the  king,  who  greeted  him  with  half-jesting  and  half- 
ironical  reproaches  that  he  had  come  alone  to  a 
Court  where  grace  and  beauty  were  estimated  at 
their  full  value, — an  address  to  which  he  gravely 
replied  by  assuring  the  disappointed  monarch  that 
the  countess  had  remained  in  Brittany  at  her  own 
request,  volunteering,  moreover,  to  prove  the  fact 
of  his  assertion  by  writing  in  the  royal  presence, 
should  his  majesty  desire  him  to  do  so,  an  urgent 
invitation  for  her  to  join  him.  Francis  accepted  the 
offer,  which  necessarily  produced  no  effect ;  and 
again  and  again  the  experiment  was  renewed  at  his 
request,  but  always  with  the  same  result,  until  the 
faithless  varlet,  to  whom  the  count  had  confided  his 
cherished  secret,  won  over  by  the  gold  of  M.  de 


ISIS-I7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  231 

Guise  (who  at  once  conjectured  that  there  was  a 
mystery  attached  to  the  unnatural  persistence  of  the 
lady),  and  his  lavish  promises  of  the  king's  favour 
and  protection  to  the  delinquent,  betrayed  the  trust 
which  had  been  reposed  in  him,  and  told  the  whole 
story  of  the  mystic  ring. 

The  result  of  such  a  discovery  may  be  conjec- 
tured. The  lacquey  was  easily  bribed  to  possess 
himself  of  the  important  talisman,  which  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  an  able  craftsman,  who  in  a  very 
short  time  manufactured  a  third  precisely  similar  to 
the  duplicate  provided  by  the  count.  The  stolen 
trinket  was  then  carefully  replaced  in  its  usual 
receptacle,  and  the  counterfeit  introduced  into  a  new 
letter  which  the  duped  husband  was  induced  to  write, 
and  which,  in  affectionate  and  urgent  terms,  invited 
the  young  and  innocent  recluse  to  repair  without 
further  delay  to  the  Court,  of  which  she  was  consti- 
tuted to  form  so  bright  an  ornament. 

On  the  receipt  of  the  important  jewel  the  countess 
did  not  hesitate  to  obey  the  summons  ;  nor  can  it  be 
doubted  that  she  did  so  with  alacrity.  Buried  in  an 
old  castle,  with  no  other  society  than  that  of  her 
confessor  and  her  maids,  and  with  no  occupation 
save  what  she  derived  from  her  breviary  and  her 
tapestry-work, — separated  for  the  first  time  from  a 
husband  to  whom  she  was  fondly  attached,  and  not 
without  some  of  those  vague  yearnings  after  novelty 
so  natural  to  her  age  and  sex, — it  can  scarcely  be 
matter  of  surprise  that  her  leave-taking  of  the 
sombre  residence  which  she  had  so  long  occupied 


232  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ix 

was  rendered  as  brief  as  possible,  and  that  she  was 
soon  upon  her  road  to  that  Court  whence  she  had 
been  hitherto  shut  out. 

At  this  period  the  royal  circle  had  removed  to 
Chambord,  a  locality  to  which  Francis  was  greatly 
attached.  The  chateau,  standing  about  four  leagues 
from  Blois,  on  the  vast  plain  of  Sologne,  and  be- 
tween the  extensive  forests  of  Boulogne  and  Bussy, 
had  originally  been  a  mere  country  house  of  the 
Counts  of  Blois,  and  was,  even  at  the  time  of  which 
we  write,  rather  a  hunting  rendezvous  than  an  actual 
residence.  Situated  in  the  near  neighbourhood  of 
the  Castle  of  Romorantin,  so  long  the  abode  ot 
Louise  de  Savoie,  it  had  been  the  scene  of  many  of 
the  boyish  sports  of  the  young  king,  and  was,  to 
him,  full  of  agreeable  associations,  for  it  was  there 
that  he  had  enjoyed  the  pleasures  of  the  chase 
during  the  banishment  of  his  mother  from  the 
Court,  and  he  still  retained  his  partiality  for  the 
old  spot  endeared  to  him  by  so  many  delightful 
recollections. 

It  was  to  Chambord,  therefore,  that  Fran9oise  de 
Foix  hastened  on  the  receipt  of  the  treacherous 
trinket,  never  doubting  for  an  instant  that  in  so 
doing  she  was  implicitly  obeying  the  will  of  her 
husband ;  and  this  very  fact  was  only  another  link 
in  the  luckless  chain  of  the  count's  misfortunes  ;  as, 
had  the  Court  been  assembled  either  in  Paris  or  at 
Amboise,  the  arrival  of  the  countess  might  have 
passed  unobserved,  and  time  have  been  thus  afforded 
for  an  explanation  which  would  have  enabled  him 


I5I5-I7  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  233 

to  effect  her  instant  return  to  Brittany ;  but  the 
comparative  solitude  of  Chambord  rendered  every 
new  event  of  importance  a  matter  of  momentary 
amusement ;  and,  consequently,  the  fair  traveller  no 
sooner  reached  the  chateau,  attended  by  her  escort, 
than  the  news  of  her  advent  became  universally 
known ;  and  the  astonished  and  mortified  husband 
found  himself  utterly  unable  to  avert  the  evil  against 
which  he  had  believed  himself  to  be  so  securely 
guarded. 

Cold  and  constrained,  however,  was  the  welcome 
with  which  he  greeted  his  beautiful  young  wife  ;  and 
they  had  no  sooner  retired  to  his  apartments  than 
he  upbraided  her  bitterly  for  her  want  of  good  faith. 
The  countess,  bewildered  in  her  turn  by  such  a  re- 
ception, sank  into  a  chair,  overcome  by  terror  and 
distress,  and,  extending  her  hand  to  her  irritated 
husband,  displayed  upon  one  of  her  slender  fingers 
the  two  rings  by  which  he  had  himself  desired  that 
she  should  govern  her  conduct.  More  and  more 
astonished,  the  count  flew  to  the  casket  in  which  his 
treasure  had  been  concealed,  and  there,  in  its  velvet 
envelope,  still  lay  the  ring  in  which  he  had  confided 
for  safety. 

"  Are  you  now  convinced,  Jean  ?"  asked  the  weep- 
ing countess,  who  had  anxiously  watched  his  move- 
ments. 

"  I  am,  madame,"  was  the  stern  reply  ;  "  and  I  have 
learnt  that  to  your  other  accomplishments  you  add 
that  of  a  duplicity  and  talent  for  intrigue  of  which  I 
had  assuredly  never  suspected  you  to  be  possessed. 


234  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ix 

Henceforward    we   shall    better    comprehend    each 
other." 

"  Count !  "  exclaimed  the  agonized  wife,  wringing 
her  hands,  "  explain  to  me  what  you  mean.  Have  I 
done  wrong  in  coming  here  ?  Did  you  not  yourself 
summon  me  ?  Have  I  not  remained  contentedly  in 
Brittany  until  the  ring  reached  me,  which  was  to 
assure  me  that  I  acted  in  obedience  to  your  wishes 
by  rejoining  you?-  Speak!  In  what  have  I  failed 
in  my  duty  as  a  wife  ?" 

"  The  question  is  now  needless,  madame,"  was  the 
rejoinder;  "and  a  few  weeks  hence  you  will,  in  all 
probability,  no  longer  have  the  courage  to  ask  it ;" 
and  he  turned  to  leave  the  room. 

"  Nay,  Jean,  you  shall  not  leave  me  in  anger," 
cried  Fran9oise,  springing  from  her  seat,  and  grasp- 
ing his  arm ;  "only  let  me  understand  my  fault,  and 
repair  it." 

"  It  is  too  late,"  said  the  count  moodily  ;  "the  evil 
is  now,  as  you  must  have  foreseen,  totally  irrepar- 
able. I  never  sent  that  ring,  as  you  well  know ;  I 
have  been  deceived  in  you ;  but  from  this  hour  I 
shall  be  enabled  to  estimate  your  affection  at  its 
proper  value." 

"  You  never  sent  that  ring?"  echoed  the  young 
countess,  upon  whom  the  remainder  of  his  words 
had  been  lost ;  "whence  came  it,  then  ?"  And  she 
looked  earnestly  upon  the  hand  which  bore  it. 

"  Nay,  nay ;  this  is  idle,  madame,"  replied  the 
count  with  a  bitter  laugh.  "  From  whom  could  it 
have  come  save  from  him  who,  through  your  cour- 


1515-17  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  235 

teous  and  indulgent  agency,  was  enabled  to  have  it 
made  ?  But  let  us  bandy  words  no  longer.  You 
have  taken  your  destiny  into  your  own  hands.  You 
are  now  at  Court,  and  have  duties  to  perform  with 
which  even  your  husband  will  have  no  right  to  in- 
terfere. Dry  your  eyes,  therefore,  for  within  an 
hour  you  must  wait  upon  the  queen,  and  you  have 
little  time  to  spare.  I  will  order  your  women  to 
attend  you."  And,  shaking  off  her  grasp,  he  strode 
coldly  from  the  apartment.^ 

But  even  yet  the  young  and  pure  mind  of 
Fran9oise  de  Foix  was  unable  to  fathom  the  mean- 
ing of  her  husband.  She  only  felt  that  he  was 
changed ;  how  changed !  She  only  comprehended 
that  he  had  ceased  to  love  her,  for  she  could  not 
estimate  the  force  of  that  engrossing  and  jealous 
affection  which  thus  played  the  traitor  to  its  own 
interests,  and  converted  an  attached  husband  into 
an  ungenerous  tyrant.  But  she  had,  as  he  had  just 
declared,  few  moments  to  spare  to  such  reflections. 
The  queen  held  a  reception-circle  that  very  even- 

^  "  The  story  told  by  Brantome  of  a  stratagem  employed  by 
Francis  to  bring  this  lady  to  his  Court,  despite  the  desire  of  her 
husband  to  prevent  it — namely,  by  having  a  facsimile  made  and  for- 
warded to  her  of  a  ring  which  the  count  had  arranged  to  send  to  his 
wife  should  he  wish  her  to  join  him — is  no  more  worthy  of  credit 
than  many  other  gossiping  tales  related  by  the  famous  chroniqueur 
scandalcux.  He  was  not  bom  until  1 540,  therefore  he  personally 
knew  nothing  of  the  reign  of  Francis  I.,  and  very  little  of  that  of 
Henry  II.  His  grandfather  was  page  to  Anne  of  Brittany,  and  from 
him  and  his  father  the  Court  scandal  was  obtained  which  Brantome 
gives,  adding  thereto  the  suggestions  of  his  own  depraved  fancy. 
Some  incidental  remarks  in  the  'State  Papers'  of  1532  quite  dis- 
prove the  sequel  also  to  Brantome's  story." — Lady  Jackson's  Court 
of  France  in  the  Sixteenth  Century^  vol.  i.  pp.  90,  91. 


236  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ix 

ing,  at  which  it  was  necessary  that  she  should  be 
presented;  and  accordingly,  with  a  sick  and  trembling 
heart,  she  resigned  herself  to  the  hands  of  her 
women,  and  when  at  length  the  count  reappeared 
in  order  to  conduct  her  to  the  queen's  apartments, 
he  shuddered  as  his  eye  fell  upon  her,  radiant  in 
youth  and  beauty  and  sparkling  with  jewels. 

The  opposition  which  had  been  offered  to  his 
wishes  had,  as  a  natural  consequence,  only  height- 
ened the  curiosity  of  the  young  monarch  ;  and,  ac- 
cordingly, the  countess  had  no  sooner  paid  her 
respects  to  the  queen  than,  waving  back  the 
courtiers  by  whom  he  was  immediately  surrounded, 
he  advanced  a  step  forward,  and  with  a  courteous 
smile  awaited  her  approach. 

"  Nay,  nay,"  he  said  graciously,  as  she  would  have 
bent  her  knee  before  him,  "it  is  not  for  the  fair 
Comtesse  de  Chateaubriand  to  kneel  even  to  a 
king.  You  are  welcome,  madame,  even  although 
your  advent  has  been  a  somewhat  tardy  one." 

"  Sire,"  commenced  the  lady  with  a  burning  blush. 

"  We  know  all,  madame,"  interposed  Francis  with 
a  gay  laugh,  through  which  pierced  a  triumph  he 
was  unable  altogether  to  conceal ;  "  you  are  a  votary 
of  solitude,  a  lover  of  silent  streams  and  hoary 
mountains  ;  but,  believe  me,  these  are  not  the  only 
objects  for  bright  eyes  to  dwell  upon.  We  must 
make  a  convert  of  you,  madame,  or  it  will  be  said 
that  our  Court  has  lost  its  charm.  M.  de  Chateau- 
briand,"— -and  his  lip  curled  for  an  instant  as  he 
addressed  the  count,  whose  moody  brow  sufficiently 


1 5 15- 1 7  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  237 

betrayed  his  secret  annoyance,  and  formed  a  singu- 
lar contrast  to  the  curious  and  supercilious  looks 
which  were  turned  upon  him, — "  we  depend  on  you 
to  inspire  your  charming  wife  with  less  gloomy 
tastes :  you  have  already  done  this  most  loyally  by 
letter,  and  must  now  complete  your  work.  Once 
more,  madame,  you  are  welcome.  In  a  few  days 
your  fitting  post  at  Court  shall  be  assigned  to  you. 
And  now,  gentlemen,  to  our  games."  And  without 
awaiting  the  acknowledgment  of  the  count  he  turned 
upon  his  heel,  and  approached  a  table  covered  with 
dice  and  playing-cards,  which  had  been  originally 
introduced  into  France  in  the  reign  of  Charles  VI. 
by  the  beautiful  and  devoted  Odette  de  Champ- 
divers,  for  the  amusement  of  that  monarch  during 
his  paroxysms  of  insanity. 

In  a  few  moments  all  the  nobles  of  the  Court 
circle  were  absorbed  by  the  chances  of  the  different 
games  in  which  they  were  engaged,  save  only  M.  de 
Chateaubriand,  who  stationed  himself  behind  the 
chair  of  the  queen,  while  his  wife,  at  her  desire, 
seated  herself  on  a  cushion  at  her  feet.  The  gentle 
Claude,  accustomed  to  the  triumphant  demeanour 
and  coquettish  bearing  of  those  beauties  whom 
Francis,  on  their  first  presentation,  had  honoured 
by  his  particular  notice,  and  totally  unaware  of  the 
unworthy  intrigue  by  which  the  young  countess  had 
been  allured  to  the  Court,  found  herself  singularly 
attracted  by  the  timid  and  lovely  woman  from  whose 
cheek  the  blush  had  not  yet  faded ;  and,  as  if  to 
complete  the  discomfiture  of  the  count,  added  her 


238  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ix 

own   courteous    reproaches   to   those   of  her  royal 
husband. 

"  But  you  have  a  child,"  she  said,  suddenly  check- 
ing herself  with  a  fond  smile  of  maternal  love,  "  and 
I  can  understand  your  reluctance.  We  must  en- 
deavour to  compensate  you  for  such  a  sacrifice." 

For  a  moment  the  brow  of  the  count  cleared. 
His  wife  might  yet  be  saved  if  attached  to  the  circle 
of  the  pure-minded  queen !  But  again  he  glanced 
at  her,  as  her  beaming  eyes  were  raised  in  grati- 
tude to  her  royal  mistress,  and  he  felt  the  utter 
futility  of  such  a  hope ;  for  the  conviction  fell  cold 
upon  his  heart  that  amid  all  the  galaxy  of  beauty 
by  which  he  was  surrounded  he  must  look  in  vain 
for  loveliness  like  hers. 

Nor  was  Francis,  who,  from  the  first  moment  of 
his  meeting  with  the  young  countess,  was,  or  be- 
lieved himself  to  be,  deeply  enamoured  of  her 
personal  charms,  and  attracted  by  her  graceful 
timidity,  much  more  at  ease  than  the  count  himself. 
Unaccustomed  to  opposition,  and  habituated,  when 
it  chanced  to  present  itself,  to  overrule  it  by  such 
extreme  measures  as  tended  to  prove  that  neither 
his  chivalry  towards  the  weaker  sex  nor  his  grati- 
tude towards  the  most  zealous  of  his  subjects  could 
turn  him  from  his  purpose,  he  was  well  aware  that 
M.  de  Chateaubriand  was  likely  to  prove  less  plastic 
in  his  hands  than  most  of  those  yielding  husbands 
with  whom  he  had  hitherto  been  brought  into  con- 
tact ;  while,  conscious  that  the  countess  herself  was 
as  yet  wholly  unaware  of  the  deception  to  which 


15 1 5-1 7  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  239 

she  had  fallen  a  victim,  and  detecting  in  her  proud 
although  simple  bearing  a  sense  of  personal  dignity 
which  could  not  fail  to  delay,  even  should  it  not 
eventually  altogether  thwart  his  projects,  he  was, 
for  the  first  time,  almost  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed ; 
and  it  is  extremely  probable  that  had  not  the  count, 
blinded  by  his  ungenerous  suspicions,  himself  alien- 
ated the  affections  of  his  young  wife,  Frangoise  de 
Foix  might  have  escaped  the  snare  which  had  been 
laid  for  her.  As  it  was,  however,  the  occasional 
privacy  of  M.  and  Madame  de  Chateaubriand  was 
embittered  by  tears  and  reproaches ;  and  as  every 
fresh  courtesy  of  Francis  towards  his  wife  furnished 
the  count  with  a  new  subject  of  invective  and 
violence,  it  was  not  long  ere  the  unhappy  countess 
began  to  sigh  for  the  hour  which  would  summon 
her  to  the  circle  of  the  king,  and  thus  release  her 
from  anger  and  contempt.  .. 

On  the  return  of  the  Court  to  Amboise,  Madame 
de  Chateaubriand  was  welcomed  with  especial  cour- 
tesy by  Louise  de  Savoie,  who  had  already  ascer- 
tained the  feelings  of  her  son  towards  the  young 
and  brilliant  stranger,  whose  eyes  were  even  thus 
early  learning  to  forget  the  use  of  tears,  and  whose 
cheek  flushed,  perhaps,  but  no  longer  burnt,  under 
the  gaze  of  the  king.  The  heart  soon  loses  its 
bloom  beneath  the  language  of  flattery ;  Frangoise 
had  a  sovereign  at  her  feet ;  the  atmosphere  of  a 
licentious  Court  was  around  her,  and  evil  advisers 
at  her  side ;  while  a  deeply-rooted  terror  of  the  re- 
sentment of  a  husband  whom  she  had  unwittingly 


240  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  ix 

offended,  unhappily  combined  with  these  to  dazzle, 
bewilder,  and  subdue  her.  She  still  trembled,  but 
she  did  not  turn  away  from  the  abyss  which  yawned 
before  her  eyes.  Suspected  by  the  man  on  whom 
she  had  lavished  all  the  affection  of  her  girlhood, 
and  separated  from  her  infant,  whose  purity  might 
have  enfolded  her  as  with  the  wings  of  an  angel, 
and  saved  her  from  herself,  she  sickened  at  her 
utter  helplessness  ;  and  at  length  forgetting  all,  save 
her  own  vacuity  of  heart,  and  dreading  lest  in  some 
moment  of  exasperation  her  husband  should  brave 
the  anger  of  the  king,  and  immure  her  once  more  in 
his  ancestral  castle,  with  himself  as  her  sole  com- 
panion, she  yielded  to  the  dishonour  which  had  been 
prepared  for  her,  and  added  another  to  the  list  of 
those  victims  whom  the  licentiousness  of  Francis 
had  already  sacrificed  to  his  selfishness. 

Madame  de  Chateaubriand,  however,  fallen  as 
she  was,  still  shrank  from  the  publicity  of  vice  in 
which  some  of  her  predecessors  had  discovered  the 
proudest  result  of  the  king's  attachment,  and  for  a 
time  the  unfortunate  liaison  was  carefully  concealed, 
although  this  could  not  be  so  skilfully  accomplished 
as  to  deceive  the  anxious  and  watchful  husband,  or 
the  experienced  Louise  de  Savoie,  who,  discerning 
nothing  more  dangerous  in  the  countess  than  her 
beauty,  and  satisfied  that  she  had  little  to  apprehend 
from  her  ambition,  affected  not  to  remark  the  de- 
votion of  the  king,  and  continued  to  lavish  upon 
the  new  favourite  all  the  graceful  courtesies  which 
could  encourage  her  in  her  precarious  and  sinful  career. 


1515-17  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  241 

Far  otherwise  was  it,  however,  with  the  injured 
count,  who  no  sooner  ascertained  that  his  dishonour 
was  accomplished  than  he  instantly  withdrew  from 
the  theatre  of  his  disgrace,  and  retired  to  that  peace- 
ful home  in  Britanny  which  the  absence  of  his  wife's 
affection  had  rendered  a  desert.  He  vouchsafed 
neither  expostulation  nor  reproach ;  the  past,  as  he 
bitterly  remembered,  could  never  be  recalled.  His 
child  was  motherless,  and  she  was  now  his  only 
earthly  link ;  he  had  done  with  the  world,  and  the 
world  with  him.  Others  who  had  been  subjected  to 
the  like  indignity  might  haunt  the  saloons  of  royalty^ 
and  sweep  the  earth  with  their  plumed  hats  before 
the  spoiler  of  their  homes;  M.  de  Chateaubriand 
was  not  of  these ;  he  could  suffer,  but  he  could  not 
stoop  to  kiss  the  hand  that  smote  him ;  and  thus, 
without  a  word,  without  a  sign,  he  departed  from 
the  Court,  and  his  existence  was  ere  long  forgotten. 


VOL.  I  16 


CHAPTER   X 

1517-18 

Francis  forms  projects  for  the  embellishment  of  his  kingdom  and  the  encour- 
agement of  literature — Birth  of  a  dauphin — Francis  invites  Leo  X.  to 
become  sponsor  to  the  young  prince — The  royal  christening — Resigna- 
tion of  Queen  Claude — Marriage  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  and  Madelaine 
de  la  Tour-d'Auvergne — Munificence  of  the  Pope — A  fancy  ball  in  the 
sixteenth  century — The  bridal  banquet — Increasing  influence  of  Madame 
de  Chateaubriand— Louise  de  Savoie  becomes  jealous  of  her  power  over 
the  king — Forbearance  of  the  queen — The  countess  pushes  the  fortunes 
of  her  brothers — The  hunting-party — Lautrec  appointed  governor  of  the 
Milanese — The  recall  of  Bourbon — Indignation  of  the  duchess-mother — 
Bourbon  arrives  at  Court — Love  visions — Jealousy  of  Francis — The 
Chancellor  endeavours  to  effect  the  recognition  of  the  Coficordat — Per- 
plexity of  the  king — Magisterial  corruption  —  Pertinacity  of  Francis — 
Dismissal  of  the  delegates — Registration  of  the  Concordat — Demonstra- 
tion of  the  university — Unpopularity  of  the  king. 

Francis  having  at  this  period  repaired,  in  so  far  as 
it  was  possible,  the  error  of  which  his  predecessor 
had  been  guilty,  by  conciliating  the  Swiss,  and  be- 
lieving himself  to  be  at  once  free  from  any  imme- 
diate risk  of  foreign  aggression  and  secure  of  the 
Milanese,  in  whose  conquest  he  had  consumed  alike 
the  revenues  of  the  state  and  the  first  years  of  his 
reign,  began  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  embellish- 
ment of  his  kingdom  and  the  interests  of  literature. 
Himself,  as  we  have  already  shown,  but  a  super- 
ficial scholar,  he  was  nevertheless  fully  aware  of 
the  importance  of  introducing  and  encouraging  a 


1517-18         COURT  AND  RETGN  OF  FRANCIS  I  243 

taste  for  polite  learning  among  his  subjects  ;  and 
although  his  mind,  when  not  engrossed  by  his  pas- 
sion for  Madame  de  Chateaubriand,  which  soon 
ceased  to  be  a  secret  to  the  Court,  was  occasionally 
disturbed  by  doubts  of  the  acceptance  of  the  Con- 
cordat, he  amused  himself  in  forming  splendid  pro- 
jects, both  as  regarded  the  public  edifices  and  the 
establishment  of  a  great  national  college. 

For  a  brief  period  he  was,  however,  diverted 
from  this  new  and  worthy  ambition  by  the  birth  of 
a  dauphin,  an  event  which  was  hailed  alike  by  the 
young  king  and  his  subjects  with  enthusiastic  de- 
light. The  infant  prince  was  born  at  Amboise  on 
the  28  th  of  February  151 7,  and  he  had  scarcely 
seen  the  light  before  Francis  despatched  M.  de 
Saint- Mesme,  a  nobleman  of  his  household,  to 
Rome,  at  once  formally  to  communicate  this  intel- 
ligence to  the  sovereign  pontiff,  and  privately  to 
invite  him  to  become  sponsor  to  the  royal  infant, 
and  thus  consolidate  the  friendly  alliance  which 
existed  between  them.^  The  envoy  was  most  gra- 
ciously received,  nor  did  the  Pope  attempt  to  con- 
ceal the  satisfaction  which  he  experienced  from  the 
proposition ;  and  after  having  sumptuously  enter- 
tained M.  de  Saint- Mesme  during  several  days, 
while  the  baptismal  presents  were  in  preparation, 
he  finally  dismissed  him  with  great  honour,  and  he 
left    the   Holy  City  accompanied    by   Lorenzo    de' 

^  Bacon,  in  his  Life  and  Times  of  Francis  /.,  attributes  the  over- 
ture to  Leo  X. ;  but  as  the  Memoirs  of  Fleuranges  and  Du  Bellay 
alike  assert  it  to  have  been  the  act  of  the  French  king,  I  have  deemed 
it  expedient  to  follow  their  authority. 


244  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

Medici,  the  nephew  of  the  pontiff,  who  was  ap- 
pointed to  officiate  as  his  proxy,  and  the  Florentine 
ambassadors. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  illustrious  party  at  Amboise, 
they  were  met  beyond  the  gates  of  the  city  by  all 
the  princes  of  the  blood  and  great  nobles  of  the 
Court,  by  whom  they  were  conducted  to  the  king. 
The  other  sponsors  selected  by  Francis  to  assist 
at  the  august  ceremony  were  the  Due  de  Lorraine 
and  Madame  de  Bourbon,^  and  there  was  a  smile 
upon  every  lip  save  that  of  the  meek  mother  of  the 
new  idol,  who  at  length  found  her  last  hope  of  re- 
gaining the  affections  of  her  volatile  husband  ex- 
tinguished for  ever.  She  had  trusted  with  all  a 
woman's  confidence  that  the  birth  of  a  son  would 
restore  him  to  her,  but  in  the  very  tone  of  his 
address,  as  he  coldly  thanked  her  for  the  present 
which  she  had  made  to  France,  she  read  all  her 
lone  and  loveless  future ;  and  as  her  pale  cheek 
fell  back  upon  the  pillow,  she  closed  her  heavy  eye- 
lids to  conceal  the  tears  which  would  not  be  sup- 
pressed, and  humbled  herself  in  prayer. 

None,  however,  save  her  immediate  attendants, 
were  conscious  amid  the  general  joy  that  there  was 
a  bleeding  heart  beneath  the  proud  roof  of  the  palace 
of  Amboise.  Princes  and  nobles  feasted  at  the  table 
of  the  king ;  the  silvery  sound  of  women's  laughter 
echoed  through  the  vast  apartments ;    the   guards 

1  The  Loyal  Servant  states  the  godmother  of  the  royal  infant  to 
have  been  the  Duchesse  d'Alen9on  ;  but  it  is  to  be  presumed  that 
the  authority  of  Fleuranges,  who  assisted  at  the  ceremony,  is  the 
more  correct  of  the  two. 


1 517-18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  245 

were  merry  at  their  posts  and  the  varlets  at  their 
toil.  France  at  length  boasted  a  dauphin,  and  every 
other  consideration  was  swallowed  up  in  that  one 
joyous  conviction. 

The  ceremony  of  baptism  was  invested  with  all 
the  splendour  of  which  it  was  susceptible.     Plumed 
hats  and  jewelled  vests  were  mingled  with  brocades 
and  laces ;  the  fairest  and  noblest  of  France  were 
grouped    with    distinguished    individuals    of    other 
nations,  among  whom  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
was  the   Prince   of  Orange,  who  arrived,  attended 
by  a  magnificent  retinue,  to  offer  his  congratulations 
to  the  king,  but  was  so  coldly  received  as  to  retire 
in  disgust  and  to  volunteer  his  services  to  Charles 
v.,   by  whom  they  were   eagerly  and   courteously 
accepted.     The  altar   of  the   palace -chapel  blazed 
with  precious  stones,  and  its  aisles  were  heavy  with 
the  fumes  of  frankincense ;  gorgeously  attired  pre- 
lates lined  the  sanctuary,  and  majestic  women  filled 
the   galleries   of    the    tribune ;    harmonious   voices 
pealed   out   the    hymn    of  praise ;    and   the   infant 
prince,  shrouded  in  ermine  and  velvet,  received  the 
name  of  Francis  from  the  courtly  lips  of  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici.     The  service  once  concluded,  the  bril- 
liant crowd  swept  onward  from  the  chapel  towards 
the  great  courtyard,  which  had  been   entirely  en- 
closed both  above  and  around  with  party-coloured 
draperies,  in  order  to  protect  the  guests  from  the 
weather  during    the  banquet,  the  grand  saloon   of 
the  palace  having  been  found  inadequate  to  afford 
accommodation    to    so    numerous    an    assemblage. 


246  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

After  the  repast,  which  was  prolonged  until  a  late 
hour,  this  magnificent  temporary  hall  was  illumi- 
nated by  torches,  and  dancing,  lotteries,  and  dice 
occupied  the  remainder  of  the  night. 

Nor  were  the  baptismal  festivities  confined  to 
Amboise,  for  throughout  the  whole  realm  of  France 
the  people  vied  with  each  other  in  testifying  their 
joy  at  the  birth  of  a  dauphin.  The  streets  of  Paris 
were  filled  with  revellers,  who  were  entertained  at 
the  expense  of  the  authorities ;  and  at  Orleans  two 
temporary  fountains  were  erected  in  front  of  the 
H6tel  de  Ville,  which  poured  forth  white  and  red 
wine  from  sunrise  to  sunset.  The  glad  shouting 
of  the  populace  responded  to  the  pealing  of  the 
cannon  from  the  fortresses,  and  for  several  days  all 
business  was  suspended. 

Accustomed  as  he  had  been  to  the  pontifical 
splendour  of  his  uncle's  Court,  Lorenzo  de'  Medici 
was  dazzled  by  the  magnificence  of  all  around  him. 
The  chivalric  courtesies  of  the  king,  the  gracious 
smiles  of  the  regent,^  the  lavish  profusion  of  the 
great  nobles,  and  the  extreme  beauty  of  the  fair 
women  who  thronged  the  palace,  so  far  exceeded 
all  his  previous  experience  that  he  at  once  became 
reconciled  to  the  will  of  his  uncle,  by  whom  he  had 
been  charged  to  propose  a  treaty  of  marriage  be- 
tween himself  and  Madelaine  de  la  Tour-d'Auvergne, 
the  younger  daughter  of  the  Comte  de  Boulogne 
and  Auvergne,   whose  sister  had  married  the  Due 

1  Madame  d'Angouleme  was  commonly  so  called  after  her  tempo- 
rary regency. 


1517-18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  247 

d'Aubigny.  This  lady,  who  was  young  and  ex- 
tremely beautiful,  was  connected  with  the  royal 
family  through  her  mother,  who  had  been  a  princess 
of  Bourbon,^  and  it  was  not  without  considerable 
disappointment  that  some  of  the  wealthiest  nobles 
in  the  kingdom  saw  her  hand  bestowed  upon  a 
foreigner. 

Francis,  however,  effected  a  sagacious  stroke  of 
policy  by  the  concession,  as  he  required  in  return  a 
pledge  from  Lorenzo  that  both  he  and  all  his  family 
should  bind  themselves  to  uphold  the  interests  of 
France,  with  which  this  marriage  would  tend  so 
closely  to  unite  them.  The  Florentine  at  once 
acceded  to  this  arrangement ;  but,  enamoured  as  he 
was  of  the  fair  girl  who  was  about  to  become  his 
wife,  he  was  still  wary  enough  to  stipulate  in  return 
that  the  French  king  should  withdraw  his  protection 
from  the  Duke  of  Urbino,  whose  ally  he  then  was, 
and  offer  no  impediment  to  his  own  attempt  to 
possess  himself  of  the  duchy.  To  this  proposition 
Francis,  after  some  demur,  in  his  turn  consented, 
and  preparations  were  forthwith  commenced  for 
the  celebration  of  this  ill-omened  marriage,  which 
was  fated  to  exert  so  mighty  an  influence  on  the 
destinies  of  France  by  giving  birth  to  Catherine 
de'  Medici. 

Once  more  the  halls  of  Amboise  were  loud  with 
festivity   and  radiant   with   splendour  ;  and,  on  the 

1  Madelaine  de  la  Tour-d'Auverg^e  was  the  daughter  and  co- 
heiress of  Jean,  Comte  de  Boulogne,  and  Joanna,  the  daughter  of 
Jean,  Due  de  Vendome. 


248  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

return  of  the  bridal  party  from  the  chapel,  Francis 
invested  the  bridegroom  with  the  Cross  of  St. 
Michael,  having  previously  presented  him  with  an 
annual  revenue  of  ten  thousand  crowns,  and  lavished 
upon  the  bride  presents  of  the  most  costly  descrip- 
tion. 

In  this  munificence  he  was,  however,  even  ex- 
ceeded by  the  Pope,  who,  in  the  height  of  his  self- 
gratulation  at  the  new  aggrandisement  of  his  family, 
despatched  both  to  the  Queen  of  France  and  to  the 
bride  gifts  of  so  costly  a  nature  as  to  excite  universal 
astonishment,  among  which  (probably  the  most  re- 
markable at  the  period)  was  a  state-bed,  inlaid  with 
mother-of-pearl,  tortoise-shell,  and  ivory ;  while  so 
great  was  his  profusion  that  thirty-six  horses  were 
required  to  convey  all  these  treasures  to  the  capital. 

The  most  novel  feature  of  the  Court  festival  at 
this  marriage  was  the  introduction  of  distinct  char- 
acter dances,  executed  entirely  by  the  youngest  and 
most  beautiful  women  of  the  royal  circle,  who, 
divided  into  parties  of  twelve,  each  assumed  some 
national  costume,  of  which  the  illusion  was  further 
heightened  by  the  accompaniment  of  corresponding 
instruments.  As  the  number  of  these  courtly  cory- 
phees amounted  to  seventy,  the  whole  of  the  morning 
was  consumed  in  witnessing  their  performances  ; 
after  which  the  king  conducted  the  bride  to  the 
banqueting  table,  followed  by  her  new-made  hus- 
band leading  Madame  d'Angouleme,  and  having  in 
their  suite  all  the  princes  of  the  blood,  foreign  am- 
bassadors, and  nobles,  each  according  to  his  order 


15 1 7- 1 8  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  249 

of  precedence.  As  the  last  of  the  guests  passed  the 
threshold  the  trumpets  sounded,  and  the  king,  ad- 
vancing to  the  upper  end  of  the  hall,  placed  his 
mother  upon  his  right  hand,  and  then,  raising  his 
feathered  hat  for  an  instant,  motioned  to  the  courtly- 
party  to  take  their  seats.  With  the  exception  of  the 
Duchesse  d'Angouleme  and  the  bride,  no  lady  had  a 
place  at  the  royal  table ;  Madame  de  Chateaubriand 
herself,  upon  this  stringent  occasion  of  Court  eti- 
quette, being  compelled  to  forego  her  ordinary  privi- 
lege. As  the  several  courses  were  removed  the 
trumpets  again  pealed  out,  and,  during  the  intervals, 
the  royal  musicians  kept  up  an  uninterrupted  stream 
of  harmony.  At  the  close  of  the  banquet  dancing 
was  resumed,  and  continued  until  an  hour  past  mid- 
night, amid  a  blaze  of  flambeaux  and  torches  which 
rivalled  the  light  of  day. 

On  the  morrow  the  festivities  were  resumed,  and 
jousts,  skirmishes,  sham  fights,  sieges,  and  other 
manly  sports  were  varied  by  balls,  mysteries,  hunt- 
ing-parties, and  such  pastimes  as  might  be  shared 
by  the  young  beauties  of  the  Court,  during  several 
weeks  ;  after  which  the  king  took  leave  of  the  newly- 
married  pair,  who  departed  for  Italy  accompanied 
by  the  Due  d'Aubigny,  the  brother-in-law  of  the 
bride,  whom  he  had  appointed  his  ambassador  to 
the  Pope,  and  who,  in  that  capacity,  acquitted  him- 
self so  admirably  as  to  ensure  the  lasting  alliance  of 
the  Medici  with  France. 

Never  again,  however,  was  the  unfortunate  Made- 
laine  de  la  Tour-d'Auvergne  destined  to  visit  her 


2SO  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

beloved  country,  to  whose  interests  she  had  been  a 
passive  although  a  reluctant  victim.  In  little  more 
than  a  year  she  had  become  the  mother  of  Catherine 
de'  Medici,  and  was  in  her  grave,  whither  she  was 
followed  in  the  short  space  of  five  days  by  her  hus- 
band, both  having  fallen  martyrs  to  a  contagious  dis- 
ease in  April  15 19. 

As  the  Court  slowly  subsided  into  tranquillity, 
after  the  almost  delirious  dissipation  in  which  it  had 
been  immersed,  the  increasing  influence  of  Madame 
de  Chateaubriand  became  more  and  more  apparent. 
She  assumed  no  personal  consequence,  it  is  true  ; 
but,  urged  on  by  her  family,  she  evinced  the  most 
anxious  desire  to  enrich  her  three  brothers  ;  and,  in 
order  to  accomplish  this  project,  began  to  interfere 
in  the  affairs  of  state  with  a  pertinacity  which  aroused 
all  the  jealousy  of  Louise  de  Savoie,  who  had  been 
so  long  accustomed  to  mould  her  son  to  her  will 
that  she  could  ill  brook  the  rivalry  of  power 
which  was  thus  forced  upon  her.  Nor  was  it  long 
ere  she  became  painfully  aware  that  the  contest  was 
altogether  unequal,  and  that  the  indulgence  with 
which  she  had,  from  his  very  boyhood,  encouraged 
the  passions  of  her  son  was  destined  to  prove  her 
own  punishment.  Hitherto  she  had  been  all  in  all 
to  him ;  for  the  patient  and  neglected  queen  had  put 
forth  no  claim  to  popularity,  and  had  shrunk  alike 
from  every  cabal  which  had  been  formed  about  her, 
devoting  herself  entirely  to  her  children,  of  two  of 
whom  she  was  so  soon  to  be  bereaved,  and  to  those 
works  of  charity  and  acts  of  devotion  by  which  she 


1517-18  FRANCIS  THE  FIRST  251 

hoped  one  day  to  purchase  the  affections  of  her  hus- 
band. The  previous  intrigues  of  the  young  king 
had  been  merely  the  result  of  a  passing  fancy,  and, 
as  such,  incapable  of  weakening  the  influence  of  his 
mother  ;  and  even  in  her  first  judgment  of  Fran^oise 
de  Foix  the  sagacious  duchess  had  not  deceived  her- 
self;  but  she  had  committed  the  grievous  and  irre- 
parable error  of  forgetting  that,  little  as  the  young 
countess  might  seek  or  estimate  self-aggrandisement, 
there  were  those  about  her  who,  unlike  her  high- 
hearted husband,  would  not  disdain  to  make  her  dis- 
honour the  pedestal  of  their  own  fortunes ;  and  this 
was  precisely  that  which  came  to  pass. 

It  has  been  already  stated  that,  noble  as  they 
were  by  birth,  the  family  of  Fran^oise  de  Foix  were 
by  no  means  wealthy ;  and  it  was  consequently 
inevitable  that,  having  once  accustomed  themselves 
to  look  upon  the  dishonour  of  their  sister  with  indif- 
ference, her  three  brothers,  Messieurs  de  Lautrec, 
De  Lascun,  and  De  Lespare,  should  regard  her  as 
the  destined  architect  of  their  fortunes,  and  thus 
involve  her  in  intrigues  and  cabals  for  which  she 
was  totally  unfitted  by  nature.  The  first  glaring 
instance  of  her  unbounded  influence  over  her  royal 
lover  was  exhibited  in  the  recall  of  the  Connetable 
de  Bourbon  from  Milan,  where  he  had  remained 
since  its  conquest  as  the  lieutenant-general  of  the 
king,  and  the  substitution  of  the  Mar^chal  de  Lau- 
trec, whose  ambition  could  be  satisfied  only  by  the 
highest  and  most  honourable  charge  in  the  army. 

It  was   during  a  hunting-party  in  the  forest  of 


252  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

Bussy,  when,  fatigued  and  heated  with  the  chase, 
Francis  reigned  up  his  panting  horse  beside  the 
palfrey  of  the  young  countess,  and,  with  one  hand 
caressing  its  silken  mane,  received  with  a  fond 
smile  her  whispered  compliments  upon  his  prowess, 
that  this  great  and  eventful  change  was  fated  to  be 
arranged.  Long  as  she  had  meditated  upon  it,  and 
anxious  as  she  had  become  to  ensure  its  success,  a 
certain  timidity  had  hitherto  restrained  her  from 
entering  formally  upon  the  subject ;  but  on  this 
occasion  a  single  question  from  the  enamoured 
monarch  liberated  her  at  once  from  her  difficulty. 
They  were  alone,  and  secure  for  a  time  from  all 
interruption,  the  hunt  having  led  the  whole  of  the 
royal  suite  to  another  and  a  distant  quarter  of  the 
forest ;  the  sunlight  fell  in  living  mosaics  upon  the 
mossy  turf,  when  the  quivering  leaves  afforded  it  a 
momentary  passage ;  and  the  low  sweet  wind,  as  it 
wandered  past,  swept  the  long  ringlets  of  the  countess 
almost  to  the  cheek  of  her  companion  as  he  leant 
towards  her. 

"  On  the  faith  of  a  gentleman  !  "^  exclaimed  Fran- 
cis, "  you  have  followed  the  hunt  bravely  to-day,  and 
have  shamed  many  a  cavalier,  who  will  nevertheless 

1  Foy  de  Gentil-Homme  was  the  habitual  oath  of  Francis  I.,  and, 
indeed,  the  only  one  which  he  permitted  to  pass  his  lips.  Brantome 
informs  us  that  the  three  preceding  kings  of  France  had  likewise 
each  his  favourite  ejaculation  ;  and  that  a  quatrain  was  written  in 
commemoration,  thus  : — 

"  Quand  la  '  Pasque  Dieu,'  ddceda  ....  Louys  XI. 

'  Par  le  Jour-Dieu,'  luy  succeda Charles  VIII. 

'  Le  Diable  m'emporte,'  s'en  tint  pr^s   .  Louys  XII. 

'  Foy  de  Gentil-Homme,'  vint  apr^s    ,  .  Frangois  I." 


1517-18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  253 

vaunt  of  his  prowess  at  the  banquet  erewhile.  But 
where  were  your  thoughts,  ma  mie  f  I  could  not 
watch  them  as  I  did  your  bright  eyes  and  your  slen- 
der figure."  And  he  looked  tenderly  in  her  face,  as 
though  he  already  anticipated  the  flattering  answer. 

"  I  need  surely  not  inform  your  majesty  that  they 
were,  as  ever,  fixed  upon  yourself ;  but,  alas !  not 
with  undivided  happiness,"  said  the  lady. 

'*  And  why  so  ? "  demanded  the  king  abruptly ; 
"these  are  strange  words  from  the  lips  of  Fran9oise 
de  Foix." 

"  They  are.  Sire ;  but  they  are  at  least  truthful. 
Are  you  not  all  the  world  to  me  ?  And  can  I  reflect 
upon  any  possible  injury  to  your  august  name  with- 
out dismay  ?  " 

"  You  speak  in  enigmas,  madame ;  I  scarcely 
know  you  in  this  new  character.  Explain  your 
meaning,  and  let  us  once  more  understand  each 
other. " 

"  My  duty  is  obedience,"  said  the  beautiful 
countess,  as  she  suffered  her  large  lustrous  eyes 
to  rest  for  a  moment  upon  the  hand  which  was  still 
plunged  amid  the  mane  of  her  palfrey,  and  then 
raised  them  timidly  and  tearfully  to  the  face  of  the 
king ;  "  with  your  image  was  blended  that  of  the 
Connetable  de  Bourbon." 

"  Ha!  our  good  cousin  Charles  de  Montpensier," 
smiled  Francis;  "and  what  of  him,  fair  dame  ."*" 

"  Simply,  Sire,  that  your  royal  favour  has  rendered 
him  too  arrogant  for  the  subject  of  such  a  master ; 
and  that  I  have  certain  advices  from  Milan  which 


254  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  CHAr.  x 

lead  me  to  suspect  his  loyalty.  Already  the  most 
wealthy  and  powerful  noble  of  France,  he  has 
nothing  to  anticipate  at  home,  and  his  ambition  is 
no  secret." 

Francis  started,  and  sat  erect  in  his  saddle. 

"  The  duchy  of  Milan,"  pursued  the  countess, 
"  would  be  a  tempting  exchange  for  the  sword  of 
connetable ;  and  M.  de  Bourbon  has  already  secured 
the  hearts  of  his  viceregal  subjects." 

"  Ha,  indeed  !"  exclaimed  her  listener  vehemently, 
"is  it  so?  In  good  truth  this  must  be  looked  to. 
But  in  whom  can  we  trust  if  Charles  de  Montpen- 
sier,  whom  we  have  raised  to  the  highest  dignity  in 
the  realm,  turn  traitor  to  our  interests." 

"  One  for  whom  your  majesty  has  done  less,"  said 
Frangoise  steadily ;  "  one  who  still  remembers  at 
whose  hands  he  holds  his  favour,  and  who  has 
already  afforded  proof  both  of  his  loyalty  and  his 
devotion." 

"True,"  replied  the  king  thoughtfully,  and  with  a 
moody  brow  ;  "  doubtless  there  are  many  such  in 
our  good  kingdom  of  France,  but  the  choice  will  be 
no  easy  one.  Besides,  Marguerite  loves  Bourbon 
like  a  brother,  and  will  reproach  me  should  I  offer 
him  an  affront." 

"  The  loss  of  the  Milanese  would  be  an  affront  to 
your  majesty  which  no  reproach  could  reach,"  re- 
torted the  favourite. 

"  On  the  faith  of  a  gentleman  you  are  right, 
madame ! "  almost  shouted  Francis,  who  was  stung 
to  the  very  core  by  the  bare  supposition  of  such  an 


IS  1 7- 1 8  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  255 

indignity.  "  The  connetable  shall  be  recalled.  And 
now,  since  you  have  become  a  counsellor,  and 
plunged  into  the  stormy  sea  of  state  affairs,  you 
must  complete  your  work,  and  help  me  to  select  his 
successor." 

"Your  majesty  has  not  forgotten  Ravenna?" 
asked  the  countess  with  her  most  sunny  smile. 

The  eye  of  the  young  king  brightened.  "  Ha !  I 
read  the  meaning  of  that  fair  plotting  face.  No,  ma 
mie,  I  have  forgotten  neither  Ravenna  nor  the  bril- 
liant services  of  your  brother ;  but  you  should  also 
remember  that  he  is  already  Mardchal  de  France." 

"The  Due  de  Bourbon  is  connetable,"  said  the 
countess  boldly  ;  "  and,  like  Lautrec,  owes  his  dig- 
nity to  your  majesty." 

"  Why  !  you  have  suddenly  become  as  uncompro- 
mising as  Duprat  himself!  "  laughed  Francis,  as  he 
touched  her  cheek  lightly  with  his  fringed  glove. 
"  Enough,  however,  for  the  present ;  this  shall  be 
considered." 

"You  will  not  consult  the  duchess,  Sire  ? "  asked 
Fran^oise  anxiously. 

"  Not  if  you  forbid  it ;  but  here  come  the  hunt, 
with  De  Guise  and  Fleuranges  in  the  van.  Ha !  on 
the  faith  of  a  gentleman,  they  have  lost  their  quarry!" 

"And  I  my  cause,  Sire,  the  first  which  I  have 
ever  undertaken.  Pardon  me,  I  overrated  my  influ- 
ence with  your  majesty."  And  the  spoilt  beauty 
burst  into  tears,  half  of  mortification  and  half  of  dis- 
appointment. 

"  Frangoise ! "    exclaimed  the  young  king,   hur- 


256  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

riedly  extending  his  hand,  which  she  clasped  in  her 
slender  fingers  ;  "dear  Frangoise,  dry  your  eyes,  or 
you  will  unman  me.  Your  cause  is  won.  Lautrec 
shall  have  the  Milanese." 

The  countess  had  no  time  for  thanks.  In  another 
instant  all  the  sportsmen  were  grouped  about  the 
king,  the  plumes  of  their  hats  mingling  with  the 
manes  of  their  horses,  as  they  were  respectfully 
withdrawn ;  the  details  of  the  unsuccessful  hunt 
were  rapidly  given,  and  then,  with  tightened  reins, 
the  whole  noble  party  galloped  back  to  Chambord. 

Francis  redeemed  his  pledge.  The  connetable 
was  recalled,  and  the  Marechal  de  Lautrec  formally 
invested  with  the  government  of  the  Milanese,  to 
the  great  disgust  of  Bourbon,  who  received  with 
undisguised  coldness  the  assurances  of  the  king  that 
he  could  not  longer  forego  the  gratification  of  his 
presence  in  France.  In  how  far  the  arguments  of 
Madame  de  Chateaubriand  had  wronged  this 
haughty  noble  cannot  be  ascertained,  although, 
from  the  almost  regal  state  which  he  affected  while 
at  Milan,  and  the  facility  with  which  he  afterwards 
transferred  his  services  to  a  hostile  sovereign,  it 
appears  probable  that  his  loyalty  might  have  failed 
before  his  ambition  had  he  once  felt  himself  assured 
of  success  in  seizing  the  sovereignty  of  the  duchy ; 
an  inference  which  is,  moreover,  strengthened  by 
his  resolute  and  undisguised  hostility  to  Leo  X.,  the 
ally  of  his  own  monarch.  Suffice  it,  however,  that 
whatever  might  have  been  his  ulterior  projects,  they 
were  now  overthrown  for  ever ;  and  he  found  him- 


V 


CHARJLES. 


FROM  A  SCAHCE   PRINT  AFTER  TITIAS   ESGRAV^D  3Y  VOR'^TERMAN. 


1517-18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  257 

self  compelled  to  exchange  his  quasi-royalty  for  a 
less  exalted  station. 

Meanwhile,  the  indignation  of  Madame  d'Angou- 
leme  exceeded  all  bounds  when  she  discovered  that 
so  important  a  measure  had  been  effected  without 
her  sanction  ;  and  as  the  identity  of  the  new  viceroy 
sufficiently  explained  by  whose  influence  his  eleva- 
tion had  been  accomplished,  her  hatred  towards  the 
favourite  became  more  apparent.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, for  the  compulsory  return  of  the  connetable 
that  Louise  de  Savoie  felt  exasperated  against  the 
countess,  but  simply  because  the  event  demonstrated 
the  immense  power  which  she  had  obtained  over  the 
mind  of  Francis,  and  the  assurance  that  thencefor- 
ward she  must  content  herself  with  sharing  the 
supremacy  which  had  once  been  entirely  her  own. 
The  arrival  of  Charles  de  Bourbon  at  the  Court  was, 
on  the  contrary,  a  source  of  satisfaction ;  for,  as  we 
have  already  hinted,  she  had  suffered  herself  to 
conceive  a  passion  for  that  prince  to  which,  despite 
the  maturity  of  her  age,  she  still  trusted  that  he  would 
not  ultimately  prove  insensible.  She  was  ignorant 
of  his  attachment  to  her  daughter,  and  conscious 
that  she  was  still  one  of  the  handsomest  women  in 
France,  as  well  as  the  mother  of  the  sovereign,  she 
pleased  herself  with  the  belief  that  opportunity  alone 
was  wanting  to  bring  him  to  her  feet. 

Strange,  however,  are  the  mysteries  of  the  human 
heart.  Never  for  an  instant  had  Bourbon  forgotten 
Marguerite ;  he  still  worshipped  her  as  his  first  love ; 
and  when  he  crossed  the  frontier  her  image  rose  as 

VOL.  I  17 


258  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

freshly  before  him  as  on  the  day  when  her  murmured 
farewell  had  fallen  upon  his  ear  like  music  in  the 
saloon  of  Amboise ;  yet,  nevertheless,  he  no  sooner 
encountered  the  smile  of  the  Comtesse  de  Chateau- 
briand, his  active  enemy,  against  whom  he  had 
vowed  an  undying  enmity,  than  he  became  her  slave. 
Fran^oise,  whose  heart  had,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence, became  vitiated  by  a  career  of  avowed  pro- 
fligacy, did  not  view  with  indifference  the  effect 
produced  by  her  beauty ;  and  the  prejudices  and 
suspicions  of  the  king,  already  awakened  against  the 
duke  by  her  own  representations,  acquired  strength 
from  the  interest  which  she  suddenly  and  unex- 
pectedly took  in  all  that  concerned  him.  Herein, 
however,  Francis  wronged  the  connetable,  who, 
thralled  as  he  might  be  and  undoubtedly  was  by 
the  charms  of  the  young  countess,  was  too  proud  to 
volunteer  a  rivalry  with  the  Admiral  de  Bonnivet, 
and  he  had  not  passed  eight  and  forty  hours  at  Court 
•ere  he  heard  the  name  of  that  noble  coupled  with 
that  of  the  king's  favourite  in  a  manner  which 
reflected  no  honour  upon  either  party. 

Some  rumour  of  the  same  nature  had  also  reached 
the  ear  of  Francis  himself,  and  he  had  even  men- 
tioned the  circumstance  to  the  countess  with  an 
asperity  which  might  have  satisfied  her  that  she  had 
little  indulgence  to  expect  should  he  prove  the  truth 
of  the  report ;  but  Fran^oise  had  only  found  food 
for  mirth  in  the  accusation,  and  even  mimicked  with 
such  charming  talent  the  amorous  looks  and  gestures 
of  the  suspected  courtier  that  the  wrath  of  the  king 


1517-18  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  259 

was  converted  into  amusement.  Brantome  asserts 
that  In  order  the  better  to  hoodwink  her  royal 
paramour  she  did  not  disdain  to  make  sport  of  the 
credulity  of  the  admiral  in  supposing  that  one  who 
was  loved  by  Francis  could  for  a  moment  be  induced 
to  listen  to  his  own  suit,  declaring  that  she  permitted 
his  familiarities  only  because  his  conversation  enter- 
tained her,  and  he  made  her  merry  even  when  her 
heart  was  sad ;  and  by  these  devices  she  turned 
away  the  attention  of  the  young  monarch,  and 
directed  his  jealousy  to  a  wrong  quarter  in  order  the 
better  to  pursue  her  intrigue.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it 
is  certain  that  the  distaste  of  Francis  for  the  Due  de 
Bourbon  increased  daily ;  while  the  passion  of 
Bonnivet  for  the  fair  favourite,  which  had  become 
sufficiently  notorious  to  furnish  matter  for  the  gossips 
of  the  Court,  never  for  an  instant  affected  his  favour. 
His  early  attachment  to  the  Duchesse  d'Alen9on 
had  been  no  secret  to  the  king,  and  as  he  still  affected 
the  same  hopeless  devotion,  Francis,  convinced  by 
the  arguments  of  the  countess,  learnt  to  regard  his 
attentions  to  herself  as  the  mere  chivalric  services  of 
a  true  knight  to  the  most  beautiful  woman  of  his 
acquaintance. 

Amid  all  these  intrigues  the  chancellor  continued 
his  efforts  to  secure  the  recognition  of  the  Concordat 
by  the  parliament  of  Paris.  Francis  had  solemnly 
pledged  his  word  to  the  Pope  that  he  would  compel 
its  observance,  and  was  necessarily  anxious  to  see 
his  promise  fulfilled,  not  only  because  it  involved 
his  good   understanding  with  the   sovereign-pontiff 


26o  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

himself,  but  because  upon  that  understanding  hinged 
his  tranquil  possession  of  the  duchy  of  Milan.  The 
debates  upon  the  Pragmatic  Sanction  had  also  tended 
to  increase  the  previous  difficulties  under  which  he 
laboured  to  a  fearful  extent.  His  personal  influence 
in  the  elections  had  sensibly  declined  ;  the  morals 
of  the  clergy  had  degenerated,  and  serious  abuses 
had  arisen  in  the  religious  houses  ;  the  most  sacred 
considerations  were  sacrificed  to  party  feeling ;  all 
such  individuals  as  were  known  to  be  in  favour  of 
rigid  discipline  were  rejected,  and  men  of  more  than 
suspicious  morals  were  elevated  to  the  highest 
ecclesiastical  dignities.  No  unanimous  suffrage 
could  be  secured  even  for  the  most  eligible  candi- 
date ;  at  every  election  there  was  a  division  of 
votes  ;  and  as  no  final  arrangement  could  be  effected 
without  rancour  and  vindictiveness,  the  one  party 
insisting  upon  their  majority  of  voices,  and  the  other 
accusing  their  opponents  of  simony,  the  most  dis- 
graceful processes  at  law  ensued,  in  which  neither 
exposure  nor  invective  were  spared. 

Although  the  conditions  of  the  Concordat  had 
never  been  officially  promulgated,  it  had  neverthe- 
less created  universal  discontent.  The  magistrates, 
indignant  that  their  privileges  had  been  invaded, 
and  wilfully  overlooking  the  fact  that  the  Church 
could  not  exist  in  its  primitive  state  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  loudly  accused  both  their  own  monarch  and 
the  Pope  of  having  assumed  to  themselves  a  power 
to  which  they  had  no  pretension,  and,  as  a  natural 
consequence,  this  bold  assertion,  coming  from  a  body 


1517-18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  261 

of  men  deeply  versed  in  ecclesiastical  law,  and 
basing  their  arguments  upon  the  maxims  of  the  two 
great  Councils  of  Constance  and  Bile,  produced  a 
strong  effect  upon  the  minor  clergy  and  the  middle 
classes,  who  had  long  been  accustomed  to  regard 
the  decisions  of  those  councils  as  their  code  of  action. 
Nevertheless,  Francis  urged  forward  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  Concordat  with  the  pertinacity  of  a 
monarch  who  will  tolerate  no  opposition  to  his  will. 
In  the  month  of  June  it  was  presented  for  registra- 
tion to  the  parliament  of  Paris,  where  it  occasioned 
the  most  stormy  discussions,  and  was  openly 
opposed  by  M.  de  Sievre,  the  advocate -general, 
which  so  enraged  the  king  that  he  despatched  the 
Bastard  of  Savoy,  his  uncle,  during  one  of  the 
sittings,  to  insist  upon  its  immediate  recognition  and 
acceptance ;  instructing  him,  moreover,  to  remain 
until  the  registration  had  taken  place.  The  first 
president  expostulated  warmly  upon  this  innovation, 
representing  to  M.  de  Savoie  that  he  could  not  be 
present  at  the  deliberations  of  the  chamber  with- 
out taking  the  oath  as  a  member  of  its  body,  and 
requested  him  to  retire,  which  he  was  compelled 
reluctantly  to  do,  leaving  his  mission  unaccomplished. 
The  parliament,  in  their  turn,  sent  their  president, 
M.  de  la  Haye,  to  remonstrate  with  the  monarch, 
alleging  that  as  M.  Rene  de  Savoie  was  not  a 
member  of  their  body  his  interference  was  illegal ; 
an  expostulation  to  which  Francis  only  replied  by 
the  reiterated  exclamation: — "He  shall  be  there! 
He  shall  be  there !     I  will  no  longer  tolerate  the 


262  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

cavillers  who  oppose  my  pleasure.  I  can  replace 
them  by  better  men  who  are  ready  to  do  their  duty 
like  loyal  subjects." 

The  delegates  then  ventured  respectfully  to 
remind  him  of  the  deference  with  which  his  prede- 
cessor had  invariably  received  every  remonstrance 
offered  by  his  good  and  faithful  deputies,  but  they 
had  soon  reason  to  repent  their  boldness.  Francis 
was  at  this  period  at  Nempont,  near  Montreuil, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  strengthening  the  fortresses 
of  Picardy,  and  in  no  mood  to  be  controlled  by  forms 
or  schooled  into  submission  to  his  own  subjects.  He 
was  piqued,  moreover,  by  the  inferred  distinction 
between  himself  and  the  late  king,  and  had  no 
sooner  heard  the  president  to  an  end  than  he  ex- 
claimed haughtily  : — **  I  am  aware  that  there  are  men 
in  my  parliament  who  are  both  wise  and  worthy,  but 
I  know  also  that  there  are  others  who  are  auda- 
cious, turbulent,  and  mischievous.  I  am  not  igno- 
rant either  of  their  identity  or  their  arguments. 
You  expatiate  to  me  upon  the  justice  of  Louis  XII.  ; 
I  am  just  also,  but  like  him  I  shall  know  how  to 
compel  obedience." 

M.  de  la  Haye  would  still  have  remonstrated, 
but  the  anger  of  Francis,  who  ill  brooked  opposition 
at  any  time,  only  became  more  and  more  violent  ; 
and  he  finally  dismissed  his  unwelcome  visitor  with 
a  threat  that  he  would  send  all  who  opposed  his  will 
to  Toulouse  or  Bordeaux. 

Nevertheless,  when  he  became  more  cool,  he 
suffered  the  parliament  to  delay  the  registration  of 


1517-18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  263 

the  Concordat  under  divers  pretexts,  lest  by  too 
great  a  precipitation  he  should  increase  the  distaste 
of  the  nation  to  a  law  which  he  considered  necessary 
to  ensure  the  welfare  of  the  Church  and  the  tran- 
quillity of  the  kingdom.  The  discussions  accord- 
ingly continued  from  the  13th  of  July  until  the  24th 
of  the  same  month,  in  the  presence  of  M.  de  Savoie  ; 
at  the  expiration  of  that  period  the  whole  body  came 
to  the  decision  that  they  could  not  register  the  Con- 
cordat, its  provisions  being  at  variance  with  the 
Pragmatic  Sanction,  which  they  were  compelled  to 
observe,  declaring  at  the  same  time  that  in  order  to 
enact  an  affair  of  such  paramount  importance  it  was 
necessary  to  convene  a  national  council. 

Renewed  negotiations  were  then  opened  between 
the  Court  and  the  parliament,  but  no  satisfactory 
result  could  be  obtained  ;  and  on  the  13th  of  January 
15 18  the  counsellors,  Messrs.  de  Soyen  and  Verjus, 
were  deputed  to  wait  upon  the  king,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  presenting  to  him  a  document  in  which  they 
represented  that  he  would  compromise  the  independ- 
ence and  dignity  of  his  crown  by  such  a  submission 
to  the  Pope,  and  at  the  same  time  diminish  the 
public  revenues. 

The  Court  was  then  sojourning  at  Amboise, 
and  although  apprized  of  the  arrival  of  the  delegates 
Francis  gave  no  orders  for  their  reception  or  accom- 
modation, nor  was  it  until  the  24th  of  the  month 
that  he  condescended  to  receive  them,  when,  in 
reply  to  their  communication,  he  coldly  and  haughtily 
remarked  that  his  chancellor  had  overruled  all  their 


264  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  x 

objections  in  a  document  which  he  considered  as  per- 
emptory and  conclusive.  The  two  counsellors  re- 
spectfully requested  a  copy  of  this  important  paper, 
upon  which  the  king  lost  his  temper,  and  angrily 
declared  that  he  would  not  consent  to  have  an  inter- 
minable process  created  out  of  a  subject  upon  which 
his  pleasure  should  suffice.  "  It  would  appear,"  he 
added  sternly,  "  that  my  parliament  desires  to  con- 
stitute itself  a  second  Venetian  senate ;  but  I  will  let 
them  know  that  I  am  King  of  France,  and  that  my 
will  is  law.  The  ecclesiastics  who  form  a  portion  of 
your  body  listen  to  nothing  save  what  affects  their 
own  personal  interests ;  they  have  become  coun- 
sellors only  the  more  readily  to  possess  themselves 
of  bishoprics  and  abbeys,  and  to  delude  themselves 
with  the  belief  that  under  cover  of  certain  privileges 
they  are  no  longer  my  subjects,  and  that  I  cannot 
take  their  heads  should  such  be  my  royal  pleasure. 
They  are  deceived,  however,  as  some  among  them 
may  ere  long  discover  to  their  cost.  I  will  have  no 
more  of  them  in  my  parliament ;  that  they  were  ever 
admitted  there  at  all  was  the  act  of  my  predecessors  ; 
and  my  power  is  equally  great  to  expel  them  and  to 
establish  a  contrary  law.  The  whole  body  has 
become  over  arrogant,  and  shall  in  future  confine 
itself  to  the  administration  of  justice,  which  is  now 
worse  dispensed  than  it  has  been  for  the  last  hundred 
years." 

It  was  at  the  close  of  the  evening  banquet  that 
this  unsatisfactory  interview  took  place,  and  Francis 
finally  dismissed  the  discomfited  delegates  with  an 


1517-18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  265 

order  to  leave  Amboise  by  six  o'clock  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  warning  them  that  if  they  did  not  obey 
he  would  cause  them  both  to  be  flung  into  the  castle 
moat. 

After  an  audience  of  this  description  all  further 
attempt  at  remonstrance  was  abandoned  by  the 
parliament,  although  they  still  pursued  their  discus- 
sions upon  the  question ;  but  the  patience  of  the 
king  being  finally  exhausted,  on  the  12th  of  March 
M.  de  la  Tremouille,  the  grand  chamberlain,  pre- 
sented himself  to  the  chamber  during  one  of  its 
sittings,  and  commanded  its  members,  in  the  name 
of  the  monarch,  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  regis- 
tration of  the  contested  Concordat,  and  to  waste  no 
more  time  in  deliberating  upon  a  subject  which  was 
already  decided.  As  they  still  hesitated,  some  of 
his  followers  warned  them  to  beware  of  further 
exasperating  the  anger  of  Francis,  who  had  declared 
that  should  they  persist  in  their  contumacy,  not  only 
their  own  lives  should  be  the  forfeit  of  their  dis- 
loyalty, but  that  he  would  annihilate  the  parliament 
and  destroy  the  city.  This  threat  proved  success- 
ful, and  the  parliament  consented  to  withdraw  its 
opposition. 

The  fact  was  no  sooner  promulgated  than  the 
university  issued  an  order  that  solemn  services 
should  be  performed  in  the  churches,  and  peni- 
tential processions  traverse  the  streets,  as  on  occa- 
sions of  public  calamity ;  while  the  parliament 
protested  on  oath  that  its  liberties  had  been  in- 
fringed, and  that  it  had  only  yielded  by  compulsion 


266  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I        chap,  x 

to  the  will  of  the  king.  This  done,  the  Concordat 
was  eventually  registered  on  the  i6th  of  March,  in 
the  presence  of  M.  de  la  Tremouille,  with  this  final 
clause,  which  was  a  last  and  useless  protest  against 
the  Act : — "  By  the  very  express  command  of  the 
king  several  times  repeated." 

Nor  was  the  opposition  of  the  university  less 
strongly  demonstrated ;  the  most  popular  preachers 
denounced  the  new  law  from  their  pulpits,  and  the 
most  learned  professors  from  their  chairs.  All  the 
printers  of  the  capital  were  forbidden  to  put  the 
obnoxious  document  into  type,  and  so  intemperate 
were  some  of  the  speeches  made  by  members  of 
both  bodies,  and  so  gross  the  strictures  passed  upon 
the  king  and  his  Court,  that  Francis  at  length  found 
himself  compelled  to  imprison  several  of  the  most 
distinguished  of  the  orators,  and  to  keep  them  in 
close  confinement  until  the  popular  ferment  had 
subsided ;  passing  meanwhile  an  edict  condemnatory 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  whole  university,  whose 
members  were  forbidden  under  heavy  penalties 
thenceforward  to  discuss  this  or  any  other  decree 
which  had  received  the  royal  sanction. 

Thus  the  Concordat  became  a  portion  of  the 
national  law  ;  but  although  all  open  opposition  was 
necessarily  at  an  end,  it  had  to  encounter  evasions 
and  quibbles  so  artfully  conceived  and  skilfully  exe- 
cuted that  Francis  derived  little  benefit  from  its 
enforcement,  while  he  was  made  painfully  aware 
that  by  his  pertinacity  he  had  sacrificed  his  popu- 
larity and  estranged  the  affections  of  his  people. 


CHAPTER   XI 

1518  , 

The  progress  of  literature — Leonardo  da  Vinci — Native  talent — Tact  of 
Francis — An  Italian  charlatan — Erasmus  invited  to  France — He  refuses 
to  leave  England — Cupidity  of  Leo  X. — Martin  Luther — Increasing 
favour  of  Madame  de  Chateaubriand — Unbounded  authority  of  Louise  de 
Savoie — Arrogance  of  the  French  king — His  profusion — Lautrec  disgusts 
the  Milanese — The  Marechal  Trivulzio — Intrigues  of  the  favourite — 
Trivulzio  is  declared  a  traitor — He  demands  an  audience  of  the  king — 
Is  refused,  and  dies  broken-hearted — The  vacant  bdton  is  conferred  upon 
M.  de  Lescun. 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  the  early  studies  of 
Francis  I.,  however  judiciously  planned  and  admir- 
ably conceived,  had  failed  to  render  him  an  accom- 
plished scholar,  but  they  had  nevertheless  taught 
him  to  estimate  at  their  true  value  those  more  highly 
gifted  than  himself,  and  to  render  him  eager  to 
assemble  about  him  all  who  were  most  distinguished 
in  literature  and  art  throughout  Europe.  Accord- 
ingly the  Concordat  was  no  sooner  registered  than 
he  turned  his  attention  to  this  important  point,  and 
the  first  celebrated  man  whom  he  invited  to  his 
Court  was  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  who  had  founded  the 
schools  of  Florence  and  Milan,  and  through  whom 
he  entered  into  correspondence  with  the  most 
famous  architects  of  Italy,  in  order  to  secure  their 
advice  and   assistance    in    the  construction    of  the 


268  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xi 

public  monuments  which  he  was  anxious  to  erect. 
The  Royal  College,  to  which  allusion  has  already 
been  made,  was,  however,  the  principal  object  that 
occupied  his  mind.  The  encouragement  afforded  to 
literature  by  Louis  XII.,  and  the  services  rendered 
to  oriental  learning  by  the  Greek  savant  John  Las- 
caris,  during  the  same  reign,  had  given  an  impetus 
to  native  talent  which  had  already  produced  most 
beneficial  effects  in  the  persons  of  Budee,  Danes,  ^ 
Du  Chatel,^  Cop,^  and  many  other  distinguished 
students ;  while  the  amiable  and  accomplished 
Etienne  Poucher,*  Bishop  of  Paris,  Guillaume  Petit, 
Jacques  Colin,  Guillaume  Pelissier,  and  several  more 
individuals  of  equal  reputation  for  talent  and  erudi- 
tion, formed  a  nucleus  worthy  of  the  great  names 
which  ere  long  gathered  about  them  from  all  the 

1  Pierre  Dands  was  born  in  Paris  in  1497,  was  appointed  by 
Francis  I.  Professor  of  Greek  at  the  Royal  College,  and  became  the 
tutor  of  many  illustrious  men.  He  was  subsequently  preceptor  and 
confessor  of  the  Dauphin,  afterwards  Francis  1 1.  Deputed  to  attend 
the  Council  of  Trent  in  i  546,  he  produced  a  powerful  effect  by  his 
extraordinary  eloquence,  and  in  1557  was  made  Bishop  of  Lavaur, 
He  resigned  his  see  in  1576,  and  died  in  1577.  He  is  believed  to 
have  been  the  author  of  the  famous  treatise,  De  Ecclesia  Ritibus, 
published  under  the  name  of  the  president  Duranti. 

2  Pierre  Du  Chatel,  or  Castellatms,  one  of  the  most  learned  pre- 
lates of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  born  at  Arc-en-Barrois.  He  was 
reader  and  librarian  to  Francis  I.,  who  gave  him  the  bishopric  of 
Tulle  in  1539,  and  that  of  Ma^on  in  1544.  Created  great-almoner 
of  France  in  1548,  he  became  Bishop  of  Orleans  in  1551,  and  died 
the  following  year.  He  was  intimately  versed  in  the  oriental  lan- 
guages. 

3  Guillaume  Cop  was  the  most  eminent  physician  of  his  time, 
and  the  original  translator  of  the  works  of  Galen,  Paulus  ^Eg^netus, 
and  Hippocrates. 

^  Etienne  Poucher  had  been  chancellor  during  the  reign  of 
Louis  XII.,  but  had  voluntarily  sent  in  his  resignation.  He  sub- 
sequently became  Archbishop  of  Sens,  and  died  in  1524,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-eight  years. 


iSi8  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  269 

European  nations.  Gifted  with  extraordinary  facility 
and  a  correct  taste,  Francis  soon  supplied,  or  rather 
concealed,  his  own  mental  deficiencies  by  the  apti- 
tude with  which  he  appropriated  the  ideas  of  those 
about  him  ;  and  as  he  passed  every  moment  which 
was  not  devoted  to  Madame  de  Chateaubriand,  or 
some  one  of  her  temporary  rivals,  in  the  society  of 
the  learned  men  who  ere  long  thronged  his  Court, 
and  whom  he  skilfully  and  unweariedly  questioned 
upon  the  particular  subjects  for  which  they  were 
especially  celebrated,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
vague  and  general  idea  of  every  branch  of  literature, 
which  deluded  the  unlearned  into  a  belief  of  his 
scholarship ;  while  it  even  deceived  himself  suffi- 
ciently to  persuade  him  that  he  could  acquire  by  this 
erratic  system  of  study  all  the  results  which  had 
only  been  attained  by  his  interlocutors  through  long 
and  weary  years  of  labour  and  application.  That  he 
had  thoroughly  convinced  himself  of  so  flattering  a 
fact  is  rendered  evident  by  the  nawetd  with  which 
he  on  one  occasion  remarked,  while  speaking  of  M. 
Du  Chatel,  "He  is  the  only  man  the  whole  of  whose 
science  I  have  not  fathomed  in  a  couple  of  years." 

As  a  natural  consequence,  the  anxiety  of  Francis 
to  attract  about  him  all  those  celebrities  by  whose 
assistance  he  could  either  illustrate  his  reign  or 
increase  his  own  slender  stock  of  knowledge,  ex- 
posed him  to  the  artifices  of  many  pretenders ;  and 
among  the  rest  an  anecdote  is  related  by  Alcyat^  in 

1  Andre  Alcyat  was  a  celebrated  lawyer,  born  near  Milan  in 
1492,  and  was  invited  to  Bourges  by  Francis  I.,  who  was  anxious  to 


270  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xi 

one  of  his  letters,  of  an  Italian  charlatan  named  Julio 
Camilla,  who  boasted  to  the  monarch  that  he  could 
render  him  a  proficient  both  in  Greek  and  Latin  in 
the  short  space  of  a  single  month,  provided  that  he 
would  devote  an  hour  daily  to  that  particular  study. 
He,  however,  exacted  that  no  third  person  should 
be  present,  declaring  that  so  important  a  secret  must 
be  divulged  only  to  crowned  heads ;  while  the  re- 
muneration which  he  claimed  in  the  event  of  suc- 
cess was  a  yearly  income  of  two  thousand  crowns. 
Francis  consented  to  these  terms,  and  received  the 
impostor  alone  in  his  cabinet ;  but  having,  before  the 
close  of  the  second  lesson,  satisfied  himself  of  the 
audacious  presumption  and  utter  incompetency  of 
his  master,  he  ordered  him  to  leave  the  palace,  and 
never  more  to  appear  in  his  presence, — a  command 
which  was  promptly  obeyed,  and  the  more  readily 
that,  instead  of  punishing  the  offender,  he  presented 
him  with  the  sum  of  six  hundred  crowns,  "  to  re- 
mind him  that  he  had  been  closeted  with  a  king  of 
France." 

Other  deceptions  of  a  similar  nature,  to  which  he 
was  occasionally  exposed,  did  not,  however,  deter 
Francis  from  pursuing  his  great  and  laudable  pur- 
pose. The  object  nearest  his  heart  was  still  the 
foundation  of  the  Royal  College,  and  by  the  advice 
of  Budee,  whose  modesty  was  as  remarkable  as  his 
learning,  he  resolved  to  confide  its  direction  to  the 

raise  the  character  of  the  university  of  that  city,  where  he  introduced 
the  system  of  combining  the  study  of  the  law  with  that  of  polite 
literature.  He  was  the  author  of  several  works  of  considerable 
talent,  and  died  in  1550. 


i5i8  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  271 

celebrated  Erasmus,  who  was  universally  recognized 
as  the  most  erudite  individual  of  the  age.  After 
having  for  a  time  adopted  England  as  his  country, 
where  he  had  been  entrusted  with  the  education 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  Henry  VIII., 
Erasmus  had  made  the  tour  of  Italy,  and  resisted 
all  the  efforts  of  Jean  de'  Medici,  subsequently  Pope 
Leo  X.,  to  retain  him  in  Florence,  preferring  to 
return  to  the  land  of  his  predilection,  which  he  de- 
clared to  be  the  most  advantageous  and  honourable 
sojourn  for  men  of  genius  ;  but  again  wearying  for 
change,  he  had  ultimately  taken  up  his  abode  in  the 
Low  Countries,  of  which  he  was  a  native,  and  whither 
he  had  been  invited  by  the  princess -regent,  Mar- 
guerite, who  was  a  zealous  and  liberal  patron  of  letters. 
Erasmus  had  been  recently  invested  by  his  royal 
mistress  with  the  dignity  of  honorary  counsellor, 
when  Francis  I.  decided  upon  offering  him  the 
presidentship  of  the  Royal  College  through  the 
medium  of  Budee,  whom  his  brother  student  was 
accustomed  to  distinguish  by  the  honourable  appel- 
lation of  ''the  prodigy  of  France,"  and  who  was 
authorized  to  accede  to  the  terms  of  the  learned 
Hollander,  even  should  they  include  a  bishopric. 
Dazzling  as  such  offers  were,  however,  Erasmus 
requested  time  for  reflection,  and  the  negotiation 
extended  over  the  space  of  eighteen  months ;  a  delay 
which  increased  the  anxiety  of  the  king  to  such  a 
height  that  he  ultimately  declared  himself  ready  to 
subscribe  to  any  conditions  upon  which  Erasmus 
might  insist. 


272  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xi 

Nevertheless  the  offers  of  Francis  were  ulti- 
mately definitively,  although  respectfully,  declined, 
with  every  becoming  expression  of  gratitude  for  the 
distinction  which  had  been  conferred  upon  him  by 
the  gratified  scholar,  who,  it  was  ascertained,  had 
determined,  should  he  again  leave  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, to  return  to  England  once  more,  where  Henry 
VIII.  was  urging  him,  by  offers  as  brilliant  as  those 
of  Francis  himself,  to  establish  his  permanent  abode. 

This  disappointment,  which  had  been  utterly  un- 
foreseen by  the  French  king,  necessarily  delayed  the 
organization  of  the  college ;  but  more  serious  con- 
siderations diverted  his  mind  for  a  time  even  from 
this  engrossing  project,  and  compelled  him  to  turn 
his  attention  to  a  subject  of  more  immediate  and 
vital  importance  to  the  welfare  of  his  kingdom. 

The  Court  of  Rome  having  triumphed  over  the 
councils  of  Constance  and  Bale,  through  the  submis- 
sion of  the  parliament  and  university  of  Paris,  Leo 
X.  hastened  to  profit  by  his  advantage,  and  to  de- 
grade religion  into  a  mere  matter  of  financial  specu- 
lation. Empoverished  by  his  love  of  splendour  and 
dissipation,  and  believing  himself  to  be  above  all 
further  opposition  or  worldly  responsibility,  he  had 
authorized  the  mendicant  monks  of  the  order  of  St. 
Dominic  to  disperse  themselves  over  all  the  nations 
of  Christendom,  and  to  remit  sins  for  certain  stipu- 
lated sums,  as  well  as  to  announce  certain  indulgences 
from  the  pulpit,  which  were  to  be  secured  by  the 
same  venal  means.  As  a  natural  consequence  his 
instructions  were  not  only  implicitly  obeyed,  but  so 


15 18  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  273 

perverted,  through  the  anxiety  of  the  community  to 
find  favour  in  his  eyes  by  their  success,  that  the 
people,  scandalized  by  such  an  abuse  of  authority, 
revolted  against  what  they  justly  considered  as  a 
violation  of  the  most  sacred  privileges ;  and  while 
the  parliament  of  Paris  and  the  wisdom  of  the 
Sorbonne  alike  continued  passive, — while  the  council 
of  the  Lateran,  having  abdicated  its  authority,  offered 
no  protest  against  enormities  which  struck  at  the 
root  of  the  religion  they  had  been  entrusted  to 
uphold  ;  and  worldly  prelates,  sold  to  a  corrupt  and 
venal  court,  looked  on  unmoved, — a  nobler  and  a 
purer  spirit  was  aroused  in  an  obscure  class  of  the 
community,  at  which  the  proud  sneered  and  the 
powerful  scoffed. 

A  poor  monk  of  St.  Augustin,  the  child  of  needy 
parents,  himself  vowed  to  poverty  and  privation, 
Martin  Luther,  already  celebrated  even  in  his  com- 
parative obscurity  for  the  lucidity  of  his  judgment, 
the  extraordinary  energy  of  his  mind,  and  the 
unpretending  piety  of  his  character,  scandalized  at 
the  dishonour  brought  upon  the  religion  to  which 
he  had  devoted  himself  by  the  unblushing  extor- 
tions of  Leo  X., — Luther,  careless  of  the  danger 
to  which  he  was  exposed  by  so  hazardous  a  pro- 
ceeding, first  inveighed  from  the  pulpit  against  the 
demoralizing  and  mischievous  tendencies  of  these 
indiscriminate  indulgences ;  and  then,  perceiving 
how  little  effect  was  produced  upon  the  passions 
of  his  auditors,  who  were  all,  more  or  less,  in- 
terested in  securing  for  themselves  what,  despite 
VOL.  I  18 


274  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xi 

their  disgust,  their  old  associations  led  them  to 
believe  were  a  guarantee  of  impunity  for  their  mis- 
deeds, he  abandoned  the  pulpit  for  the  desk,  and 
with  equal  rapidity  and  skill  composed  no  less  than 
ninety-nine  brief  propositions,  which  he  first  read 
in  the  church  of  St.  Wittemberg,  and  afterwards 
affixed  to  the  door  of  the  same  church,  inviting 
discussion,  and  declaring  himself  ready  to  maintain 
the  position  which  he  had  assumed.  He  appealed 
to  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Writings  ;  he  contrasted 
these  with  the  fallible  and  interested  testimony  of 
human  beings  ;  and  finally,  with  the  eloquence  of 
inspired  truth,  he  called  upon  the  people  of  Chris- 
tendom to  release  themselves  from  the  shackles 
of  a  superstition  which  degraded  their  most  sacred 
associations,  prostrated  their  most  divine  hopes, 
and  rendered  them  the  slaves  of  a  deception  which 
they  must  hereafter  expiate  by  an  eternity  of  un- 
mitigated and  unmitigable  repentance. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  objections  thus 
suddenly  and  boldly  advanced  by 

["The  solitary  monk  who  shook  the  world," 

had  long  been  germinating  in  his  mind,  and  were 
thus  abruptly  called  forth  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
moment  which  opened  up  an  extraordinary  oppor- 
tunity for  their  demonstration.  It  is  at  least  cer- 
tain that  they  produced,  under  the  force  of  existing 
circumstances,  an  effect  tenfold  greater  than  they 
could  possibly  have  done  at  any  preceding  period. 
The  reason  of  all,   and  the  consciences  of  many, 


15 18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  275 

were  offended  by  so  open  and  undisguised  an  ex- 
hibition of  papal  profligacy;  while  the  character, 
talents,  and  even  defects  of  the  reforming  monk 
secured  for  him  a  sympathy  and  an  attention  which 
gave  weight  and  authority  to  his  arguments.  His 
impetuous  and  uncompromising  spirit  disdained  all 
restraint,  while  his  extraordinary  and  colloquial 
eloquence  carried  conviction  with  it.  For  a  time, 
in  all  probability  even  himself  unconscious  of  the 
extreme  lengths  to  which  his  desire  to  abolish 
certain  abuses  must  inevitably  lead,  he  equally 
blinded  his  disciples  to  the  fact  that  he  was  rapidly 
and  surely  undermining  the  foundations  of  that 
faith  of  which  he  had  hitherto  professed  himself 
the  humble  follower;  but,  as  in  an  ill -constructed 
edifice  the  removal  of  one  prop  loosens  the  tenure 
of  the  whole  building,  so  did  the  energetic  denuncia- 
tions and  objections  of  Luther,  fed  by  the  opposi- 
tion which  he  experienced,  shake  the  entire  fabric 
of  Romanism  to  its  very  base  ;  and  as  his  capacious 
mind  grasped  the  whole  system  of  papal  supremacy, 
he  each  hour  discovered  fresh  reasons  for  a  seces- 
sion which  changed  the  face  of  Christian  Europe, 
and  was  prolific  of  the  most  important  results. 

For  a  considerable  time  both  the  Pope  and  the 
superior  clergy  regarded  with  contempt  what  they 
considered  as  the  heretical  but  impotent  endeavour 
of  a  vicious  and  powerless  monk  to  reorganize  the 
religious  world ;  a  mere  ebullition  of  vanity  and 
verbal  license  which  could  be  suppressed  at  any 
hour,    but   which  might  be  more  fittingly  allowed 


276  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xi 

to  perish  of  its  own  insignificance  in  the  Httle  city 
which  had  witnessed  its  birth.  They  had  miscal- 
culated alike  the  nature  and  the  talents  of  Martin 
Luther.  Obstacles  had  no  power  to  deter  him 
from  his  purpose ;  contempt  passed  him  by  un- 
heeded ;  conscious  of  a  mighty  mission,  he  despised 
the  suffrages  of  the  powerful  ;  and  still,  in  that 
quiet  town,  and  within  the  hoary  walls  of  its  silent 
monastery,  the  work  of  God  went  on,  to  be  em- 
blazoned thereafter  in  characters  of  never-dying 
light. 

Meanwhile,  the  influence  of  Madame  de  Cha- 
teaubriand continued  unbounded,  and  she  was  re- 
cognized as  the  channel  through  which  all  Court 
favour  might  the  most  readily  be  secured.  Louise 
de  Savoie  was,  it  is  true,  still  at  the  head  of  a 
party  who,  aware  of  the  volatile  character  of 
Francis,  were  confidently  anticipating  the  early 
disgrace  of  the  favourite  ;  but  although  they  secretly 
predicted  and  even  desired  her  downfall,  they  were 
not  the  less  assiduous  in  their  services.  Her  beauty, 
far  from  decreasing,  appeared  only  to  augment  by 
time,  and  the  passion  of  the  king  kept  pace  with 
it.  Her  smile  was  a  sufficient  recompense  for  the 
greatest  concession,  and  her  wish  was  a  law  which 
he  implicitly  obeyed.  Stern  and  unyielding  towards 
his  ministers,  in  her  hands  he  was  plastic  as  wax, 
and  she  moulded  him  to  her  pleasure.  Her  am- 
bition increased  with  her  consciousness  of  power ; 
and  so  completely  did  she  contrive  to  thrall  the 
reason  of  her  royal  lover,  that  although  her  liaison 


iSi8  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  277 

with  Bonnivet  had  become  notorious,  and  her 
advances  to  the  Due  de  Bourbon  had  long  been 
a  theme  of  sarcasm  to  the  whole  Court,  her  in- 
fluence over  the  infatuated  monarch  was  stronger 
than  ever. 

Nevertheless,  either  from  indolence  or  from 
habit,  Francis  permitted  his  mother  to  take  an 
active  share  in  the  affairs  of  government,  and 
to  treat  with  the  legates  and  ambassadors  who 
visited  his  Court ;  her  splendid  person,  insinuating 
manners,  and  powerful  understanding  enabling  her 
to  bring  to  his  counsels  the  most  efficient  aid. 
Equally  indulgent  to  her  own  social  vices  and  to 
those  of  her  son,  she  troubled  him  by  none  of  those 
representations  or  reproaches  of  which  he  was  so 
impatient ;  and  he  consequently  felt  for  her  a  de- 
ferential affection  which  secured  her  lasting  supre- 
macy. The  queen,  who,  on  the  28th  of  February 
in  the  preceding  year,  had  become  the  mother  of 
a  third  daughter,  having  at  length  abandoned  all 
hope  of  enjoying  the  domestic  happiness  to  which 
she  was  so  admirably  constituted  to  contribute,  had 
ceased  to  evince  the  slightest  interest  in  the  events 
which  were  taking  place  around  her,  and  was 
seldom  seen  in  public,  save  on  occasions  of  Court 
ceremonial  ;  while  the  wily  Duprat,  anxious  to 
maintain  himself  in  the  exalted  post  to  which  he 
had  attained,  encouraged  the  libertine  propensities 
of  the  young  king,  and  surrounded  him  with  com- 
panions little  calculated  to  elevate  his  moral  char- 
acter. 


278  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xi 

Francis  had,  at  this  period,  reached  his  twenty- 
fourth  year ;  and  to  his  naturally  dissipated  tastes 
he  added  a  supreme  contempt  for  all  classes  of  his 
subjects  save  such  as  blindly  lent  themselves  to 
his  single  will.  He  refused  to  assemble  the  States- 
General,  or  to  recognize  their  right  of  opinion 
upon  any  public  measure  adopted  by  himself;  nor 
would  he  suffer  them  to  have  a  voice  in  the  financial 
concerns  of  the  kingdom.  If  Louis  XIV.,  in  the 
plenitude  of  his  satisfaction  upon  finding  himself 
King  of  France,  was  betrayed  into  the  arrogance 
of  exclaiming,  ''  L'Etdt,  cest  Moif"  it  is  certain  that 
the  same  sentiment  had  previously  been  stringently 
enacted  by  Francis  I. 

Nevertheless,  however  he  might  despise  the 
opinions  or  the  prejudices  of  his  people,  it  is  not 
the  less  certain  that  the  young  king  avoided  as 
much  as  possible  any  lengthened  sojourn  in  the 
capital,  where  his  immediate  circle  was  exposed  to 
the  scrutiny  and  comments  of  the  citizens ;  and, 
contenting  himself  by  inhabiting  the  palace  of  the 
Tournelles  during  the  winter  months,  he  commonly 
spent  the  remainder  of  the  year  in  travelling  from 
castle  to  castle,  accompanied  by  his  whole  Court, 
generally  selecting  the  western  provinces,  and  is- 
suing his  orders  in  turn  from  Blois,  Amboise, 
Ancenis,  Verger,  St.  Germain- en -Laye,  and  even 
occasionally  from  some  obscure  hunting  rendezvous. 

The  enormous  outlay  necessitated  by  this  per- 
petual migration  may  be  imagined  when  it  is  stated 
that   Francis   exacted  under  all    circumstances    the 


iSi8  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  279 

same  ceremonious  magnificence ;  and,  according  to 
Brantome,  his  establishment  exceeded  all  parallel ; 
"nothing,"  says  the  quaint  old  chronicler,  "could 
approach  it ;  for  there  was  his  own  table,  that  of 
the  grand -master,  that  of  the  grand -chamberlain 
and  chamberlains,  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  chamber, 
of  the  gentlemen  on  duty,  of  the  valets  de  chambre^ 
and  many  others — all  so  well  provided  that  nothing 
was  wanting ;  and  what  was  most  remarkable  is, 
that  in  a  village,  or  in  the  forests,  or  at  a  meeting, 
all  were  as  well  provided  for  as  though  they  had 
been  in  Paris." 

Nor  was  this  the  only  species  of  profusion  in 
which  Francis  indulged.  Careless  of  the  calamities 
which  he  caused  by  overwhelming  his  people  with 
taxation,  he  was  lavish  of  the  money  thus  obtained 
to  all  by  whom  he  was  approached ;  and  this  to 
so  extreme  a  degree,  that  the  same  writer  from 
whom  we  have  just  quoted  proceeds  to  say : — 
"  Every  one  was  astonished  how  he  could  sustain 
and  furnish  the  outlay  of  such  immense  sums  in 
war,  and  in  gifts,  above  all  to  the  ladies,  for  he 
made  them  great  presents,  and  in  such  pomps, 
sumptuousnesses,  magnificences,  and  superb  build- 
ings. No  great  weddings  were  celebrated  at  his 
Court  which  were  not  solemnized  either  by  tourna- 
ments, or  combats,  or  masquerades,  or  rich  vest- 
ments, both  male  and  female,  or  suits  of  state 
liveries.  I  have  seen  the  chests  and  wardrobes  of 
some  of  the  ladies  of  that  period  so  full  of  dresses 
which  the  king  had  given  to  them  at  different  fetes 


28o  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xi 

and  ceremonies,  that  they  were  a  fine  fortune  of 
themselves." 

It  will  be  readily  understood  that  it  was  not  amid 
such  a  career  as  this  that  Francis  was  likely  to  recall 
to  mind  the  duties  which  he  owed  to  the  people  over 
whom  he  had  been  called  to  govern,  or  to  disen- 
tangle himself  from  the  shackles  of  an  unholy  attach- 
ment ;  yet  the  favour  of  Madame  de  Chateaubriand, 
had  it  been  less  steadfastly  founded,  might  have 
sustained  a  perilous  shock  from  the  unbridled  arro- 
gance of  her  brother,  the  Marechal  de  Lautrec,  who 
at  this  period  had  by  his  extortions  and  assumption 
so  disgusted  the  Milanese  as  to  create  great  discon- 
tent, and  to  aggravate  their  dislike  to  their  con- 
querors to  a  pitch  which  threatened  the  most  serious 
consequences.  He  had,  moreover,  given  great  um- 
brage to  the  Court  of  Rome  by  subjecting  all  eccle- 
siastical affairs  to  a  species  of  military  ordeal ;  while 
his  demeanour  towards  the  veteran  Marechal  de 
Trivulzio,  who  had  formerly  held  the  government  of 
Milan,  and  now  shared  it  with  himself,  completed 
the  exasperation  of  the  people. 

Trivulzio  was  descended,  as  we  have  elsewhere 
stated,  from  one  of  the  noblest  of  the  Lombard 
families,  and  had  been  induced  to  join  the  French 
army  in  order  to  assist  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
tyrannical  Ludovico  Sforza ;  nor  had  his  services 
ended  there,  for  he  had  subsequently  devoted  him- 
self to  the  interests  both  of  Charles  VIII.  and  Louis 
XII.  with  a  valour  and  fidelity  which  was  not  ex- 
ceeded by  those  of  any  of  their  own  subjects.     Age 


I5i8  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  281 

had,  however,  tamed  his  gallant  spirit,  and  he  had 
retired  to  Milan  in  order  to  pass  the  short  remainder 
of  his  days  amid  the  friends  of  his  early  years.  Un- 
fortunately, his  universal  popularity,  and  his  great 
wealth,  which  enabled  him  to  maintain  a  magnificent 
style  of  living,  offended  the  vanity  and  aroused  the 
jealousy  of  Lautrec,  who  could  not  brook  to  see 
himself  eclipsed  upon  the  very  theatre  of  his  triumph, 
and  who,  finding  himself  powerless  to  injure  the 
brave  old  man  at  his  own  hearth,  could  invent  no 
other  method  of  gratifying  his  selfish  malice  than 
that  of  representing  him  in  his  letters  to  the  Court 
as  a  dangerous  and  intriguing  individual,  who,  pro- 
fiting by  his  knowledge  of  the  internal  economy  and 
resources  of  the  French  nation,  had  placed  himself 
at  the  head  of  a  faction  hostile  to  the  authority  of 
Francis,  which,  should  it  be  permitted  to  mature  its 
plans,  might  endanger  the  tenure  of  the  Milanese. 

Urged  on  the  one  hand  by  the  wishes  of  the 
Pope  to  recall  Lautrec  from  his  government,  and 
apprehensive  on  the  other  that,  should  his  report  of 
the  defalcation  of  Trivulzio  prove  correct,  he  should 
be  favouring  the  views  of  the  disaffected  portion  of 
the  duchy  by  removing  the  man  who  had  detected 
their  intrigue,  Francis  wavered.  His  irresolution 
was  not,  however,  long  fated  to  endure,  for  Madame 
de  Chateaubriand  was  near  him  at  all  hours,  to 
silence  his  doubts,  to  strenghten  his  decision,  and  to 
stifle  his  remorse.  Lautrec  triumphed ;  his  acts  of 
government  were  justified  ;  and  the  gray-haired  Tri- 
vulzio declared  a  traitor  to  his  adopted  country. 


282  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xi 

This  accusation,  uttered  by  Francis  in  a  moment 
of  passion,  was  soon  communicated  to  the  veteran 
marechal,  who,  jealous  of  his  honour,  could  not 
brook  so  foul  an  insult,  but  forgetting  his  age  and 
his  infirmities  (for  he  had  attained  his  eighty-second 
year)  made  immediate  preparations  for  leaving 
Milan  in  order  to  justify  himself  in  person  to  the 
sovereign  by  whom  he  had  been  so  cruelly  mis- 
judged. 

The  summer  was  at  its  height,  and,  compelled 
to  travel  slowly  alike  from  physical  weakness  and 
the  sultriness  of  the  season,  it  was  not  until  the  be- 
ginning of  October  that  the  heartstricken  old  man 
reached  Ancenis,  where  the  Court  then  resided  ;  but, 
worn  and  suffering  as  he  was,  he  lost  no  time  in  soli- 
citing an  audience  both  of  Francis  and  his  mother. 
Madame  d'Angouleme,  who  had  personal  reasons 
for  siding  with  the  Comtesse  de  Chateaubriand  in 
this  emergency,  peremptorily  refused  to  receive  him ; 
and  although  the  king  permitted  his  presentation,  he 
simply  addressed  him  with  a  few  cold  and  civil 
words  of  welcome,  and  then  turning  upon  his  heel 
continued  a  conversation  which  the  reception  of  the 
unwelcome  visitor  had  apparently  interrupted.  Again 
and  again  did  the  veteran  warrior  entreat  only  to  be 
heard ;  Francis  was  inexorable  ;  and  at  length,  finding 
that  it  was  in  vain  to  hope  for  a  formal  audience,  and 
learning  that  the  king  was  to  pass  on  a  certain  day 
through  the  town  of  Arpajon,  where  he  was  then  re- 
siding, Trivulzio,  being  too  much  enfeebled  to  stand, 
caused  himself  to  be  carried  on  a  chair  to  the  centre  of 


iSi8  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  283 

the  Street,  and  as  Francis  approached  addressed  him 
with  the  noble  and  touching  entreaty: — "  Sire,  Con- 
descend to  listen  for  one  moment  to  a  man  who  has 
risked  his  life  in  seventeen  battles  for  you  and  your 
ancestors." 

Francis  looked  towards  him  for  an  instant,  but 
the  influence  of  Madame  de  Chateaubriand  was  too 
powerful,  his  better  nature  sank  before  it,  and  with- 
drawing his  eyes  he  passed  on  in  silence. 

"  Sire  !  oh.  Sire !  only  one  word  ; "  again  uttered 
the  failing  voice,  but  the  king  coldly  pursued  his 
way  ;  and  the  wretched  old  man,  throwing  himself 
back  into  the  arms  of  his  attendants,  suffered  them 
to  carry  him  once  more  to  his  bed,  whence  he  never 
rose  again.  His  heart  was  broken,  and  he  had  done 
with  life.  Francis  was  no  sooner  apprised  that  the 
brave  old  marechal  was  dying  than  a  feeling  of  re- 
morse for  the  harshness  which  he  had  displayed 
awoke  him  to  a  sense  of  his  own  cruelty,  and  he 
despatched  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  his  chamber  to 
express  his  regret  that  he  should  have  exhibited  so 
much  rigour  to  one  who  had  so  nobly  served  the 
French  nation. 

**  I  feel  the  kindness  of  the  king,"  said  the  expir- 
ing veteran,  "  but  I  have  felt  his  harshness  still  more 
deeply.     It  is  now  too  late." 

In  another  hour  he  had  breathed  his  last  sigh  ; 
and  nothing  remained  of  the  noble  victim  of  a  licen- 
tious woman  and  an  envious  and  unworthy  rival 
save  the  affecting  epitaph  which,  by  his  own  direc- 
tion, was  engraved  upon   his  tomb  :  J.  J.   Trivul- 


284  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS   I        chap,  xi 

tius,  Antonii  filius,  qui  nM7tquam  quievit,  quiescit  ; 
tace  ! 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  feelings  of  Francis 
when  he  learnt  that  the  brave  old  soldier  had  ceased 
to  exist,  they  were  unable  to  resist  the  blandishments 
of  the  favourite  ;  for,  to  the  indignation  of  many  who 
had  fought  beside  Trivulzio,  the  baton  of  marechal 
which  he  had  so  long  wielded  with  honour  to  himself 
and  to  the  sovereign  whom  he  served  was  bestowed 
upon  Lescun,  her  second  brother. 

Truly  vice  was  at  a  premium  in  France  in  the 
sixteenth  century ! 


CHAPTER    XII 

1518 

Increasing  popularity  of  Charles  of  Spain — Bonnivet  is  sent  on  a  mission  to 
England — A  League  is  proposed  by  Francis  to  Henry  against  the  Turks 
— And  the  marriage  of  the  infant  Dauphin  with  the  Princess  Mary — The 
reception  of  the  embassy  at  the  Court  of  England — Bonnivet  secures  the 
interest  of  Wolsey- — Francis  enters  into  a  correspondence  with  the  Cardi- 
nal— Wolsey  resigns  the  bishopric  of  Toumay — Suspicions  of  Henry 
VIH. — The  treaty  is  concluded — The  hostages — The  betrothal  at  St. 
Paul's — The  French  embassy  leaves  England — The  Earl  of  Worcester 
arrives  in  France — Reluctance  of  the  Earl  of  Worcester  to  deliver  up  the 
city  of  Toumay — Indignation  of  M.  de  Chatillon — The  betrothal  is  re- 
peated at  St.  Denis — The  ambassadors  leave  France — Francis  fortifies 
Tournay  and  Terouenne — The  French  king  endeavours  to  conciliate 
Charles  of  Castile — The  Turks  threaten  Italy — Francis  declares  his  inten- 
tion of  joining  the  Crusade — Death  of  the  Sultan — Charles  aspires  to  be 
elected  Emperor  of  Germany — Rivalry  of  Charles  and  Francis — Maximi- 
lian demands  the  crown  of  Rome — Intrigues  of  Leo  X. — Chivalric 
diplomacy — Bonnivet  is  despatched  to  Frankfort — Precarious  position  of 
Germany — Death  of  Maximilian — -Its  effect  upon  the  affairs  of  Europe — 
P'rancis  bribes  the  electoral  princes. 

The  increasing  power  and  popularity  of  Charles  of 
Spain  beginning  about  this  period  to  awaken  the  ap- 
prehensions of  the  French  king,  he  became  anxious 
to  secure  the  closer  alliance  of  Henry  VIII.,  whose 
defection  from  his  interests  would  effectually  have 
destroyed  the  balance  of  Europe  and  involved  the 
political  ruin  of  France.  Moreover,  Henry  was  at 
best  a  doubtful  ally  under  existing  circumstances,  for 
his  jealousy  of  Francis  was  no  secret,  and  his  thirst 
for  conquest  rendered  him  a  dangerous  neighbour. 


286  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xii 

possessed  as  he  was  of  the  strongly-fortified  town  of 
Tournay,  which  at  all  times  afforded  him  easy  ingress 
to  the  French  territories. 

Desirous  at  once  to  ransom  the  city  and  to  secure 
a  more  complete  and  satisfactory  understanding  with 
his  brother-monarch,  Francis  accordingly  despatched 
to  England  the  friend  of  his  childhood,  Bonnivet,  on 
whose  good  faith  and  zeal  he  implicitly  relied,  and 
upon  whose  insinuating  manners  and  courtly  tact  he 
calculated  to  effect  a  purpose  which  might  never 
have  been  accomplished  through  the  ordinary 
medium  of  state  diplomacy.  Conscious,  moreover, 
of  the  vain  and  avaricious  character  of  Wolsey,  who 
had  at  this  period  become  all-powerful  with  his  royal 
master,  Francis  instructed  his  envoy  to  be  profuse 
to  the  minister  both  in  presents  and  promises  before 
he  ventured  to  open  the  negotiation  on  the  subject 
of  Tournay ;  and  meanwhile  to  represent  to  Henry, 
as  the  object  of  his  mission,  his  own  desire  to  asso- 
ciate him  with  himself  in  the  honourable  privilege  of 
forming  a  league  for  the  preservation  of  Christen- 
dom from  the  Turks,  who  had  in  fact  assumed  an 
attitude  which  rendered  such  a  precaution  highly 
necessary.  This  effected,  he  was  further  authorized 
to  propose  a  matrimonial  alliance  between  the  Dau- 
phin, then  an  infant  of  only  a  few  months  old,  and 
the  Princess  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Henry ;  and 
above  all  to  suffer  no  opportunity  to  escape  of  con- 
ciliating the  haughty  cardinal,  without  whose  assist- 
ance Francis  was  fully  aware  that  nothing  satisfac- 
tory could  be  achieved,  and  whose  personal  pique 


15 18  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  287 

against  him  was,  as  he  also  knew,  sufficient  of  itself 
to  bring  about  a  war  between  the  two  nations. 

The  city  of  Tournay  had  remained  in  possession 
of  the  English  since  the  Battle  of  the  Spurs  ;  but 
they  could  place  little  reliance  upon  its  aid  in  the 
event  of  a  frontier  war,  being  highly  unpopular  with 
the  inhabitants,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  both 
the  French  and  the  Flemish,  who  were  equally 
interested  in  compelling  them  to  vacate  a  fortress  of 
that  importance.  Moreover,  from  its  isolated  posi- 
tion, it  was  rendered  useless  either  for  attack  or 
defence  ;  but,  despite  all  these  drawbacks,  Wolsey 
had  caused  himself  to  be  appointed  to  its  bishopric, 
and  displaced  for  that  purpose  Louis  Gaillart,  the 
prelate  elected  by  the  chapter  of  Tournay,  who,  on 
his  demission,  had  retired  to  the  Court  of  France, 
greatly  to  the  displeasure  of  the  English  cardinal, 
who  considered  himself  aggrieved  by  the  protection 
extended  by  Francis  to  an  individual  whom  he  had 
deposed. 

The  first  clause  of  the  mission  was,  as  may  be 
readily  understood,  a  mere  pretext  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  more  important  objects  which  the  French 
king  was  eager  to  attain  ;  for  the  Pope,  from  the 
ridicule  and  disgust  which  he  had  brought  upon 
religion  by  the  indiscriminate  and  venal  sale  of  in- 
dulgences before  cited,  had  rendered  the  success  of 
an  European  league  for  such  a  purpose  as  a  crusade 
almost  impossible ;  and  in  selecting  Francis  as  the 
sovereign  by  whom  it  was  to  be  organized,  he  had 
been  only  actuated  by  a  desire  to  arouse  the  romance 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


of  his  nature,  and  to  induce  him  to  absent  himself 
for  a  time  from  his  own  dominions. 

Bonnivet,  so  soon  as  he  was  fully  apprized  of  the 
wishes  of  his  royal  master,  did  not  lose  an  instant  in 
endeavouring  to  conciliate  the  English  cardinal, 
whom  he  assured,  in  the  letter  by  which  he 
announced  to  him  his  intended  visit  to  the  Court 
of  Henry,  that  the  regret  felt  by  the  French  king  at 
the  recent  misapprehensions  on  the  subject  of  the 
Due  d'Aubigny  and  the  ex- Bishop  of  Tournay,  by 
which  he  had  lost  the  confidence  of  so  distinguished 
a  person  as  his  eminence,  exceeded  all  bounds, 
adding  that  he  trusted,  when  he  should  have  the 
honour  of  a  conference,  that  all  would  be  explained 
to  his  satisfaction,  and  that  he  would  restore  to  the 
French  monarch  a  friendship  which  he  highly  valued. 

Wolsey,  flattered  by  these  overtures,  returned  a 
courteous  reply,  and  immediate  preparations  were 
made  for  the  departure  of  the  embassy,  which  was 
one  of  exceeding  magnificence. 

Not  only  did  it  comprise  Bonnivet  himself,  and  a 
number  of  great  nobles  and  members  of  the  council, 
but  also  Goufifier  de  Boisy,  and  Poncher,  Bishop  of 
Paris,  all  superbly  appointed,  and  attended  by  so 
enormous  a  suite  that,  on  their  arrival  at  Greenwich, 
where  the  Court  was  then  sojourning,  on  the  30th  of 
September,  their  appearance  created  to  the  full  as 
much  astonishment  as  admiration. 

Their  reception  even  exceeded  their  hopes.  The 
social  qualities  of  Bonnivet,  the  calm  judgment  of 
Boisy,   and    the   meek   dignity  of  the   metropolitan 


15 18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  289 

bishop,  alike  produced  their  effect,  and  Henry  and 
his  minister  emulated  each  other  in  their  efforts  to 
render  the  sojourn  of  the  embassy  in  England  a 
period  of  unalloyed  satisfaction.  Every  amusement 
which  could  be  devised  was  put  into  requisition ; 
banquets,  tourneys,  balls,  hunting  parties,  tiltings  at 
the  ring,  and  all  the  various  sports  peculiar  to  the 
age  and  nation,  alternately  occupied  the  time  and 
gratified  the  tastes  of  the  courtly  guests ;  and  amid 
all  this  dissipation  Bonnivet  was  busily  and  skilfully 
employed  in  advancing  the  interests  of  his  sovereign. 

Respectful  and  earnest  with  the  king  himself,  he 
became  obsequious  and  almost  affectionate  with 
Wolsey,  whom  he  justly  considered  as  the  actual 
monarch  of  the  country,  and  accordingly  the  car- 
dinal, whose  vanity  was  flattered  by  the  distinction^ 
and  to  whom  it  immediately  became  apparent,  grew 
daily  more  attached  to  the  society  of  the  French 
ambassador,  and  more  anxious  to  favour  his  views. 
All,  consequently,  progressed  to  the  entire  satisfac- 
tion of  Bonnivet,  who  lost  no  opportunity  of  vaunt- 
ing the  liberality  and  accomplishments  of  his  young 
monarch,  and  at  the  same  time  of  impressing  upon 
the  cardinal  the  weight  which  he  attached  to  the 
good  opinion  and  admirable  counsels  of  so  great  a 
minister.  Wolsey  listened  so  greedily  to  these  per- 
petual plaudits,  uttered  as  they  were,  sometimes  in 
the  deep  bay  of  a  window  during  the  intervals  of  a 
dance;  sometimes  in  his  barge,  as  the  indefatigable 
envoy  accompanied  him  to  Westminster;  and  some- 
times in  the  quiet  shades  of  Hampton,  where  the 

VOL.  I  1 9 


290  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xii 

cardinal  was  then  erecting  the  famous  palace  which 
outvied  in  its  time  those  of  royalty  itself,  and  ex- 
patiating to  his  attentive  listener  upon  the  architec- 
tural glories  which  he  meditated, — that  at  length 
Bonnivet  ventured  to  hint  how  anxiously  his  sove- 
reign desired  the  advice  and  assistance  of  his 
eminence  upon  a  subject  in  which  he  was  deeply 
interested. 

After  a  little  diplomatic  coquetry,  Wolsey  declared 
himself  ready  to  aid  the  French  king  in  any  way 
not  inconsistent  with  his  duty  to  his  own  monarch, 
upon  which  the  ambassador  entreated  him  to  place 
himself  in  direct  correspondence  with  Francis,  who 
would,  as  a  natural  consequence,  express  himself 
more  confidentially  to  his  eminence  than  he  could 
condescend  to  do  through  any  third  person,  however 
trustworthy.  This  was  after  a  time  also  conceded, 
and  forthwith  letters  were  exchanged  between  the 
French  king  and  the  English  cardinal  which  soon 
tended  to  secure  the  interests  of  Francis,  although 
all  was  so  skilfully  contrived  that  Wolsey  was  en- 
a.bled  to  communicate  each  missive  as  it  reached  his 
hands  to  Henry  himself,  who,  as  he  read  the  earnest 
appeals  made  by  his  brother  monarch  to  his  own 
minister  for  advice  and  support,  laughingly  remarked 
that  his  eminence  must  indeed  be  an  extraordinary 
person  if  he  could  contrive  to  govern  two  kingdoms 
at  the  same  time,  but  that  he  personally  entertained 
no  doubt  of  his  capability  even  for  such  an  under- 
taking, difficult  and  onerous  as  it  was. 

Meanwhile  the   letters  of   Francis  were  accom- 


I5i8  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  291 

panied  by  the  most  costly  gifts,  to  which  Bonnivet 
affected  to  attach  no  importance,  assuring  the  grati- 
fied cardinal  that,  should  he  continue  his  good  offices 
to  France,  its  sovereign  would  know  how  to  recorri- 
pense  them  in  a  far  more  efficient  manner.  The 
united  flattery  of  the  young  king  and  his  envoy 
proved  irresistible,  and  at  length  Wolsey  was  in- 
duced to  listen  to  the  proposition  with  which  Bon- 
nivet was  charged,  and  not  only  agreed  to  exchange 
his  distant  and  unproductive  bishopric  of  Tournay 
for  a  life-pension  of  twelve  thousand  livres,  but,  in 
return  for  this  munificence,  also  to  exert  all  his 
influence  over  the  mind  of  Henry  to  induce  him  to 
accede  both  to  this  arrangement  and  to  the  alliance 
proposed  by  Francis. 

These  preliminaries  having  been  privately  ad- 
justed, Wolsey  forthwith  began  to  recant  all  his 
former  arguments  upon  the  importance  of  retaining 
the  city  of  Tournay,  and  represented  to  the  king 
that,  upon  mature  reflection,  he  had  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  the  immense  outlay  necessitated  by 
the  support  of  a  strong  garrison  in  so  isolated  a 
position  more  than  counterbalanced  the  contingent 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  its  possession ;  its 
distance  from  Calais,  in  the  event  of  a  rupture  be- 
tween the  two  nations,  rendering  it  impossible  to 
defend  it,  when  it  must  eventually  be  lost  to 
England,  either  through  force  or  famine.  He 
therefore  strenuously  advised  Henry  to  accept  the 
offers  of  Francis,  who  had  proposed  to  purchase 
back  from  the  English  crown  Tournay,  Mortaigne, 


292  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xii 

and  Saint  Amand,  at  the  enormous  sum  of'  six 
hundred  thousand  crowns  of  gold,  payable  in  twelve 
years,  and  to  deliver  into  his  keeping  four  gentle- 
men of  his  chamber  and  four  of  the  royal  pages 
as  hostages,  until  the  whole  amount  should  be 
liquidated. 

As  the  king,  only  half  convinced,  and  somewhat 
startled  by  this  sudden  change  in  the  opinion  of  his 
minister,  still  hesitated,  Wolsey  reminded  him  that 
should  he  refuse  to  lend  himself  to  the  wishes  of 
Francis  upon  this  point,  the  French  monarch  would 
in  all  probability  recant  his  offer  of  the  hand 
of  the  dauphin,  which  was,  with  the  sole  excep- 
tion of  that  of  Charles  of  Spain,  the  only  alliance 
worthy  of  the  Princess  of  England  ;  and  that,  more- 
over, Henry  might  deduct  whatever  should  remain 
unpaid  at  the  period  of  the  marriage  from  the  dowry 
of  the  bride,  with  whom  the  sum  of  three  hundred 
and  thirty -three  thousand  crowns  had  been  de- 
manded. He  also  expatiated  earnestly  upon  the 
immense  advantages  which  must  accrue  to  England 
from  a  marriage  which  would  strengthen  the  friend- 
ship already  existing  between  the  two  nations,  and 
enable  them  to  oppose  the  increasing  power  of  the 
house  of  Austria,  which,  being  already  possessed 
not  only  of  the  Empire  but  also  of  Spain,  the  Low 
Countries,  and  the  kingdoms  of  Naples  and  Sicily, 
was  rapidly  assuming  an  attitude  that  threatened  the 
peace  of  Europe  and  the  independence  of  individual 
nations. 

After  some  slight  objections  on  the  part  of  Henry 


I5i8  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  293 

VIII.,  which  were  ultimately  overruled  by  the  argu- 
ments of  the  cardinal  and  the  representations  of  the 
French  ambassador,  the  treaty  was  definitively  con- 
cluded, and  Bonnivet  bound  himself  to  deliver  into 
the  hands  of  the  English  monarch  the  promised 
pledges,  in  the  persons  of  Frangois  de  Montmorency, 
Seigneur  de  la  Rochefort,  Charles  de  Mouy,  Seig- 
neur de  la  Meilleraye,  Antoine  des  Pres,  Seigneur 
de  Montpesat,  and  Charles  de  Souliers,  Seigneur  de 
Morette  in  Piedmont,  as  well  as  the  four  pages  of 
the  presence,  one  of  whom  was  the  elder  son  of  the 
Seigneur  de  Hugueville,  the  younger  representative 
of  the  family  of  Mortemart ;  and  of  the  three  re- 
maining two  were  scions  of  the  noble  houses  of 
Melun  and  •  Grimault.  These  important  measures 
had  been  accomplished  in  the  short  period  of  six 
weeks,  and  at  the  termination  of  that  time  the  cere- 
mony of  the  betrothal  was  performed  on  the  part  of 
the  princess  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Paul's,  where  the 
English  and  French  nobility  vied  with  each  other  in 
magnificence,  and  the  most  lavish  protestations  of 
friendship  were  exchanged/ 

The  leavetaking  followed ;  and  with  the  same 
pompous  retinue  as  they  had  landed  the  ambas- 
sadors of  Francis  quitted  the  shores  of  England, 
amid  the  acclamations  of  the  dazzled  multitude. 

Shortly  afterwards  Henry  despatched,  in  his  turn, 
the  Earl  of  Worcester,  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  Lord 
St.  John,  Sir  Nicholas  Vaux,   Sir  John  Pechy,  Sir 

1  The  treaty  of  marriage  between  the  two  royal   children  was 
signed  in  London  on  the  14th  of  October  1518. 


294  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xii 

Thomas  Boleyn,  and  a  retinue  rivalling  that  of 
Bonnivet,  to  Paris,  as  witnesses  to  the  correspond- 
ing ceremony  on  the  part  of  the  dauphin,  which  was 
celebrated  with  equal  grandeur  in  the  metropolitan 
church  of  Notre  Dame,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
receive  the  hostages  and  to  deliver  up  the  city  of 
Tournay,  according  to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty. 
The  mission  was  an  ungracious  one  to  the  earl,  who 
had  been  present  at  the  taking  of  Tournay,  and  saw 
with  regret  so  brilliant  a  trophy  once  more  lost  to 
England ;  nor  would  he  consent  to  yield  up  the 
city  until  Gaspard  de  Coligny,  Due  de  Chatillon 
and  Mar^chal  de  France,  who  had  been  despatched 
with  a  body  of  two  hundred  men-at-arms  to  take 
possession,  transmitted  to  him  his  authority  to 
receive  it,  together  with  a  written  acknowledgment 
that  he  claimed  the  place  not  as  a  right  but  as  a 
gift ;  a  demand  which  excited  much  indignation 
among  the  French  officers. 

Nevertheless,  fearful  of  incurring  the  displeasure 
of  Francis,  they  resolved  to  comply ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, the  required  documents  were  delivered  to  the 
earl  on  the  following  morning,  and  Chatillon  no 
sooner  ascertained  that  they  had  reached  his  hands 
than  he  advanced  at  the  head  of  his  troop  with 
drums  beating  and  colours  flying,  in  order  to  make 
a  triumphant  entry  into  the  citadel.  To  this  arrange- 
ment, however,  the  English  earl,  already  sufficiently 
chafed  by  the  cession  of  the  city,  would  by  no  means 
consent ;  and  he  immediately  despatched  a  gentle- 
man-at-arms to  the   quarters  of  the  marechal,  de- 


iSi8  FRANCIS   THE   FIRST  295 

daring  that,  as  the  city  had  neither  yielded  nor 
been  taken,  but  simply  transferred  by  a  marriage 
treaty,  he  could  not  consent  to  suffer  that  it  should 
be  entered  after  the  fashion  of  conquerors  ;  and 
that  the  banners  which  had  been  so  prematurely 
displayed  must  be  furled  before  he  would  permit 
the  French  troops  to  pass  the  gates. 

This  new  affront  was  ill  brooked  by  M.  de  Cha- 
tillon  and  his  taptains ;  but  once  more  they  found 
themselves  compelled  to  submit ;  the  obnoxious 
standards  were  covered,  and  they  marched  forward 
"with  drums  and  minstrelsy"  to  the  walls,  where 
they  were  met  by  the  Earl  of  Worcester  and  his 
companions,  the  papers  which  they  had  transmitted 
to  him  were  read  aloud,  and  possession  of  the 
town  and  citadel,  together  with  all  the  artillery  and 
ammunition  that  it  contained,  was  formally  delivered 
to  them,  after  which  the  English  nobles  took  their 
departure  for  Paris,  to  be  present  at  the  second 
ceremony  of  affiance. 

They  reached  the  capital  at  the  commencement 
of  December,  and  such  was  the  anxiety  evinced 
both  by  Louise  de  Savoie  and  her  son  to  secure 
the  goodwill  of  Henry  VIII.  that  no  seduction  was 
spared  in  order  to  induce  them  to  prolong  their  stay. 
The  most  beautiful  women  of  the  Court  were  their 
constant  companions,  and  festival  succeeded  festival 
with  a  rapidity  which  left  them  little  time  to  devote 
to  public  business.  The  most  superb  horses  and 
the  richest  jewels  were  profusely  distributed  among 
the  nobles,  while  their  followers  were  regaled  with 


296  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xii 

equal  magnificence.  At  length,  however,  they  were 
compelled  to  take  their  leave,  and  Francis  had  once 
again  leisure  to  turn  his  attention  to  more  important 
objects. 

His  first  care  was  to  restore  the  fortresses  of  Tour- 
nay  and  Terouenne,  which  latter  had  been  destroyed 
by  the  English  in  15 13,  to  their  original  state  of 
defence,  and  to  increase  the  strength  of  the  fortifica- 
tions of  Havre ;  while  he  was  no  less  anxious  to 
conciliate  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  Castile  than  he 
had  been  to  secure  the  alliance  of  Henry  VHI. 
Even  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  was  not  overlooked,  and 
Francis  so  far  committed  himself  as  to  promise  his 
assistance,  should  it  be  required,  in  any  future 
attempt  which  the  Florentine  might  make  to 
augment  his  territories,  notwithstanding  that  he 
had  already  unjustly  possessed  himself  of  the  duchy 
of  Urbino.  The  death  of  this  prince  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  however,  released  the  monarch  from  so 
dishonourable  a  compact. 

The  Pope  conciliated,  Maximilian  for  a  time  at 
least  powerless,  and  the  alliance  of  Henry  VHI. 
secured  by  the  betrothal  of  the  dauphin  to  his 
daughter,  neither  Francis  nor  his  mother  spared 
any  pains  to  win  the  friendship  and  confidence  of 
Charles  of  Castile,  even  while  they  were  secretly 
engaged  in  frustrating  his  schemes  of  ambition. 
The  Princesse  Louise,  to  whom  he  had  been  be- 
trothed, had  died  in  her  third  year ;  thus  a  link  was 
broken  which  they  were  desirous  to  renew,  and  in 
order  to  effect  this  they  proposed  to  him  her  sister 


I5i8  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  297 

Charlotte,  who  was  still  an  infant ;  while,  impossible 
as  it  was  to  speculate  upon  a  marriage  which  could 
not  possibly  take  place  for  many  years,  Francis  still 
persisted,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  illusion,  in 
addressing  Charles  as  his  son-in-law,  and  in  over- 
whelming him  with  professions  of  regard  and  affec- 
tion, which  were  intended  to  blind  him  to  the  efforts 
that  he  was  in  reality  making  to  curb  his  power  and 
to  counteract  his  projects. 

Meanwhile  the  young  king  had  not  forgotten  the 
mission  with  which  he  had  been  entrusted  by  the 
Pope,  and  in  which  he  had  urged  Henry  VIII.  to 
participate ;  although  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  when  they  professed 
themselves  willing  to  undertake  the  expedition,  was 
prepared  to  redeem  his  pledge.  It  was  true  that 
Selim,  the  reigning  sultan,  was  equipping  a  prodi- 
gious naval  force  on  the  coast  opposite  Otranto,  and 
that  should  the  Moslems,  newly  flushed  as  they  were 
with  conquest,  turn  their  arms  against  Italy  or 
Germany,  those  countries  might  become  an  easy 
prey,  and  all  Christendom  in  its  turn  be  threatened ; 
but  at  this  precise  crisis  it  was  rather  the  Pope  him- 
self and  Maximilian  who  were  in  jeopardy  than 
either  Francis  or  Henry,  both  of  whom  were  more 
apprehensive  of  the  European  enemy  beyond  their 
frontier  than  of  the  infidel  who  might  never  dream 
of  invading  their  territories. 

Nevertheless,  the  French  king  considered  it  ex- 
pedient as  a  measure  of  policy  to  declare  himself 
ready  to  redeem  his  word ;  and  accordingly,  on  the 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


6th  of  December  1 5 1 8,  he  convoked  an  assembly  of 
all  the  princes  of  the  blood,  the  marshals  of  France, 
the  captains  of  his  army,  the  grand  council,  and  the 
presidents  of  Paris,  and  announced  his  intention  of 
joining  the  crusade.  He  also  caused  prayers  to  be 
offered  up  in  the  churches,  and  despatched  informa- 
tion of  his  design  to  the  emperor  and  the  kings  of 
England  and  Castile  ;  but  although  the  whole  nation 
were  aware  that  the  project  had  been  pending  for  a 
considerable  period,  and  that  it  was  the  result  of 
a  long  negotiation  with  the  sovereign -pontiff,  this 
demonstration  created  little  sensation  in  France,  as 
a  general  conviction  was  felt  that  it  would  never  be 
carried  into  execution.  A  few  hot-headed  young 
men,  weary  of  inaction,  volunteered  to  join  the 
crusading  army,  but  their  enthusiasm  met  with  no 
serious  response ;  and  the  death  of  Selim,  which 
occurred  before  any  steps  had  been  taken  to  com- 
mence the  expedition,  at  once  put  an  end  to  the 
enterprise. 

Meanwhile  Charles  of  Castile  was  not  idle.  The 
health  of  Maximilian,  his  grandfather,  was  failing, 
and  he  aspired  to  succeed  him  as  Emperor  of 
Germany.  For  several  years  Maximilian,  ever 
needy,  had  been  endeavouring  to  extort  money 
both  from  Francis  and  Henry  VHI.  by  an  offer  to 
transfer  to  them  what  he  somewhat  questionably 
denominated  his  claims  on  Italy,  and  which  con- 
sisted simply  in  a  project  that  he  had  mentally 
formed  of  uniting  all  the  states  of  that  country  and 
Germany  under  one  sovereign.      His  demands  were 


15 18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  299 

of  course  disregarded,  and  he  was  consequently  irri- 
tated against  both  monarchs,  and  readily  induced  to 
favour  the  views  of  his  ambitious  grandson.  As  a 
preliminary  measure  Charles  had  applied  to  the 
pontiff  for  a  grant  of  the  investiture  of  Naples,  of 
which  Leo  X.  claimed  to  be  the  feudal  sovereign  ; 
and  not  content  with  this  attempt,  had  also  prayed 
to  be  recognized  as  King  of  the  Romans ;  while 
Maximilian,  who  was  anxious  to  secure  to  him  the 
empire  of  Germany,  in  his  turn  negotiated  with  the 
electors,^  many  of  whom  promised  him  their  votes  ; 
but  a  legal  impediment  rendered  the  election  one  of 
considerable  difficulty,  a  circumstance  of  which  the 
Pope  skilfully  availed  himself.  He  had  lost  no  time 
in  apprizing  Francis  of  the  requirements  of  Charles, 
and  the  jealousy  of  the  French  king  being  immedi- 
ately aroused,  he  had  urged  the  pontiff  to  withhold 
his  compliance,  and  not,  by  an  ill-placed  condescen- 
sion, to  peril  the  safety  of  the  Holy  See,  reminding 
him  that  as  Maximilian  had  never  received  the  im- 
perial crown  in  Rome,  he  could  claim  no  higher 
title  than  that  of  King  of  the  Romans ;  while  he 
should  have  been  crowned  emperor  before,  accord- 
ing to  the  Germanic  constitution,  he  could  assume  a 
right  to  call  upon  the  electors  to  recognize  his  pre- 
sumptive heir  as  successor  to  the  empire.     More- 

1  These  electors  were  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  Archbishop  ot 
Mayence  ;  Hermand,  Count  of  Wied  and  Archbishop  of  Cologne  ; 
Richard  of  Greiffenklau,  Archbishop  of  Treves ;  Louis,  King  of 
Bohemia ;  Louis,  Count-Palatine  of  the  Rhine ;  Frederic,  Duke  of 
Saxe,  sumamed  the  Wise ;  and  Joachim,  Marquis  of  Brandenburg. 
The  Archbishop  of  Mayence  was  in  favour  of  Charles,  while  the 
prelate  of  Treves  defended  the  interests  of  Francis. 


300  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xii 

over,  as  he  adduced,  the  grandson  of  Maximilian 
was  King  of  the  two  Sicilies,  and  by  the  decrees 
of  the  Church,  which  had  existed  in  full  vigour 
during  two  centuries  and  a  half,  the  crown  of  the 
empire  and  that  of  Naples  could  not  lawfully  be 
united  on  the  same  head. 

The  Pope  replied  to  the  application  of  Charles 
by  representing  these  impediments,  which  he  de- 
clared to  be  insuperable ;  but  the  young  King  of 
Spain  was  as  pertinacious  as  his  rival,  and  urged 
the  emperor  to  announce  to  the  Court  of  Rome  that 
his  election  was  secured  in  Germany,  and  to  request 
from  the  sovereign  -  pontiff  a  dispensation  which 
would  set  aside  the  constitutions  of  the  Church. 
Francis,  however,  denied  that  such  was  the  case, 
declaring  that  Charles  had  not  been  elected,  and 
never  would  be  so ;  and  that,  moreover,  he  had 
been  himself  urged  to  advance  his  own  pretensions 
to  the  contested  dignity ;  and  he  therefore  in  his 
turn  prayed  his  holiness  to  be  cautious  how  he 
endangered  the  permanent  interests  of  the  Church 
by  setting  aside  her  decrees,  which  had  not  only 
been  the  result  of  profound  wisdom,  but  had  now 
become  doubly  sacred  from  their  antiquity. 

Maximilian  then  pressed  the  Pope  to  send  the 
imperial  crown  to  Vienna  by  a  nuncio,  authorized 
by  his  holiness  to  perform  the  ceremonial  of  his 
coronation,  while  Charles  was  betrayed  into  the 
injudicious  measure  of  endeavouring  to  engage  the 
French  king  to  use  his  interest  with  Leo  to  induce 
him  to  consent  to  this  arrangement, — a  request  which 


15 18  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  301 

was  necessarily  evaded  by  Francis,  who  counselled 
the  pontiff  to  decline  a  measure  which  tended  to 
lower  the  dignity  of  the  Holy  See,  and  to  propose 
that  Maximilian  should  proceed  to  Rome  to  receive 
the  crown  of  empire  from  his  own  sacred  hands. 

"  Let  his  holiness,"  he  added  to  the  legate,  "be 
under  no  apprehension,  for  assuredly  he  will  not 
undertake  such  a  journey  without  being  well  guarded; 
and  if  he  were  even  able  to  perform  it  at  the  head 
of  an  army,  which  is  not  probable,  still  let  his  holi- 
ness remain  passive,  and  allow  the  King  of  France 
to  act ;  for  as  Maximilian  will  be  compelled  to  tra- 
verse the  territories  of  Milan  or  Venice,  the  king 
will  immediately  pass  into  Italy  to  protect  his  pos- 
sessions, and  so  well  accompanied  that  he  will  pledge 
himself  that  Maximilian  shall  not  reach  Rome,  but 
will  be  satisfied  to  retrace  his  steps." 

Leo  X.,  however,  could  not  overcome  his  reluc- 
tance to  venture  on  so  hazardous  an  experiment, 
and  it  would  appear  from  a  letter  of  the  Cardinal  de 
Bibbiena  that  he  had  already  prepared  a  bull  by 
which  Charles  was  authorized  to  unite  the  imperial 
crown  with  that  of  Sicily,  although  he  concealed  the 
fact  carefully  from  Francis  until  the  result  of  the 
election  should  be  declared.  Moreover,  he  laboured 
assiduously  to  dissuade  the  French  king  from  ad- 
vancing his  claim  to  the  empire,  declaring  that  the 
interests  of  Europe  would  be  better  secured  were 
some  petty  German  prince  invested  with  this  high 
sounding  title  than  the  monarch  of  so  powerful  a 
nation  as  France  ;  and  reminding  him  that  Henry 


302  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xii 

VIII.,  who  had  originally  expressed  his  resolution 
of  contesting  the  dignity,  had  already  abandoned 
the  project. 

In  the  first  instance  Francis  had  opposed  the 
King  of  Spain  with  an  apparent  frankness  and 
generosity  which  were  consistent  with  his  reputa- 
tion for  chivalry,  declaring  that  the  contest  need 
in  no  degree  affect  the  regard  which  subsisted  be- 
tween Charles  and  himself,  but  that,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  had  only  to  consider  themselves  in  the 
same  position  as  two  young  cavaliers,  who,  ena- 
moured of  the  same  mistress,  even  while  using  their 
best  efforts  to  win  her  favour,  avoided  all  occasion 
of  quarrel,  and  continued  true  and  loyal  friends.  It 
was  impossible,  however,  that  so  momentous  a 
struggle  could  be  carried  on  without  bitterness  ;  the 
very  consciousness  which  existed  on  both  sides  that 
each  was  strenuously  labouring  to  undermine  the 
interests  of  the  other  rendered  such  an  attempt 
incompatible ;  and  while  Charles  was  urging  his 
grandfather  to  undertake  the  journey  to  Rome,  and 
thus  to  remove  one  of  the  most  serious  objections  of 
the  Pope  to  his  own  succession,  Francis  despatched 
Bonnivet,  whose  successful  embassy  to  England  had 
inspired  him  with  the  most  perfect  confidence  in  his 
diplomatic  talents,  in  disguise  to  Frankfort  with 
large  sums  of  money  to  purchase  the  votes  of  such 
of  the  electors  as  had  not  yet  declared  in  his  favour. 
Bonnivet  was  subsequently  followed  by  the  Marquis 
de  Fleuranges  and  the  Seigneur  Albret  d'Orval,  who 
were  also  commissioned  to  forward  by  every  means 


I5i8  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  303 

in  their  power  the  interests  of  their  sovereign  ;  but 
neither  of  these  envoys  acted  with  sufficient  circum- 
spection, and  all  their  proceedings  were  immediately 
known  and  thwarted  by  Charles,  whose  early  habits 
of  caution  and  prescience  had  rendered  him  a  for- 
midable antagonist  to  inferior  diplomatists.  More- 
over, the  position  of  Germany  was  at  that  moment 
extremely  critical ;  the  attitude  of  the  Turks  was 
still  hostile,  and  the  nation  was  beginning  to  feel  the 
shock  of  a  mighty  religious  schism.  Thus  menaced 
both  externally  <and  internally,  she  required  a  prince 
whose  firmness  and  power  might  enable  her  not 
only  to  maintain  herself,  but  also  to  recover  from 
the  prostration  to  which  she  had  been  subjected  by 
the  wavering  and  imbecile  rule  of  Maximilian,  who, 
full  of  great  projects,  none  of  which  he  ever  accom- 
plished, had  by  his  inordinate  vanity  and  thirst  for  a 
renown  which  he  was  utterly  incapable  of  acquiring, 
by  his  uncalculating  love  of  splendour  and  his  absurd 
pretensions,  only  succeeded  in  rendering  the  first 
monarchy  in  Christendom  both  helpless  and  insig- 
nificant. 

The  two  rival  sovereigns  were,  it  is  true,  alike 
brave  and  powerful,  but  Charles  had  in  this  contest 
the  advantage  of  his  German  extraction,  his  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  principles  of  the  Germanic 
constitution,  and  a  stability  of  character  which,  unlike 
the  volatile  nature  of  Francis,  inspired  at  once  re- 
spect and  confidence. 

Thus  were  matters  situated  when  the  sudden 
and  unexpected  death  of  Maximilian,  at  Lintz  upon 


304  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xii 

the  Danube,  on  the  15th  of  January  15 19,  from  fatigue 
and  repletion,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years,  gave  a 
new  impetus  to  the  exertions  of  the  contending 
potentates.  "  His  death,"  says  Fleuranges  in  his 
memoirs,  with  a  bonhommie  which  is  irresistible, 
"  was  a  great  pity,  as  he  was  a  good  prince,  and 
kept  all  Christendom  awake ;  for  when  he  could  not 
accomplish  anything  himself  he  showed  the  way  to 
other  people,  and  therefore  all  fighting  men  ought  to 
grieve  at  his  death."  One  circumstance  connected 
with  his  decease  is  worthy  of  mention.  During  the 
last  four  years  of  his  existence  he  had  caused  a  large 
and  heavy  chest  to  be  carried  with  him  wherever 
he  went,  and  despite  his  improvident  habits  there 
were  those  about  him  who  fully  expected  one  day 
to  reap  a  rich  harvest  from  it  contents,  never  doubt- 
ing that  it  was  freighted  with  treasure.  He  had  no 
sooner  expired,  however,  than  the  illusion  was  dis- 
pelled by  the  discovery  that  it  was  simply  his  coffin, 
which  he  had  thus  prepared  against  an  emergency 
that  he  foresaw  must  soon  occur. 

His  demise  was  fated  to  exert  an  influence  over 
the  destinies  of  Europe  which  no  action  of  his  life 
had  been  able  to  elicit.  Henry  VHI.  had,  as  we 
have  already  stated,  withdrawn  from  the  contest  for 
empire,  to  which  he  had  been  originally  urged  by 
Maximilian  himself,  who,  forgetting  all  other  in- 
terests in  the  old  hatred  which  he  bore  to  France, 
had  even  offered  to  resign  his  own  claim  to  the 
imperial  crown  if  the  English  king  would  possess 
himself    of    Milan,    and    then    accompany    him    to 


i5i8  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  305 

Rome  to  receive  it.  It  is  asserted  that  Henry 
subsequently  repented  the  prudence  which  had  led 
him  to  decline  this  offer,  from  a  distrust  not  only 
of  the  sincerity  but  also  of  the  stability  of  Maximilian, 
whose  magnificent  beginnings  generally  ended  in 
failure,  and  that  he  would  willingly,  when  it  was 
too  late,  have  recanted  his  resolution.  The  delay 
had,  however,  been  fatal  to  him ;  he  could  neither 
compete  with  the  policy  of  Charles  nor  with  the  gold 
of  Francis,  who  had  distributed  the  enormous  sum 
of  four  hundred  thousand  crowns  among  the  elec- 
toral princes  through  the  medium  of  his  agents,  and 
Henry  accordingly  remained  neuter. 


VOL.  I  20 


CHAPTER    XIII 

1519 

A  struggle  for  empire — Contrast  between  Charles  and  Francis — Able  govern- 
ment of  the  Cardinal  Ximenes — He  is  displaced  and  dies — The  Germans 
favour  the  pretensions  of  Francis — Tergiversation  of  the  Pope — Duplicity 
of  Henry  VIH. — Supineness  of  the  petty  princes — Wily  policy  of  Charles 
— Germaine  de  Foix — Francis  offends  the  prejudices  of  the  Flemish — 
Robert  de  la  Mark — Seckingen — His  introduction  to  the  French  king — 
Mutual  misgivings — The  Due  de  Gueldres  is  disgraced  at  the  instigation 
of  Louise  de  Savoie — Her  double  dealing — M.  de  la  Mark  and  the 
Bishop  of  Liege  join  the  cause  of  Charles — Disgust  of  Seckingen — He 
joins  the  princes  of  Bouillon — Charles  of  Austria  attacks  the  Turkish 
galleys. 

Thus  the  struggle  was  entirely  between  the  sover- 
eigns of  France  and  Spain ;  and,  perhaps,  two 
monarchs  more  dissimilar  both  in  physical  and 
moral  attributes  could  not  have  placed  them- 
selves in  competition.  Francis,  full  of  ambition, 
courage,  and  enthusiasm,  gifted  by  nature  with  a 
person  of  remarkable  majesty  and  beauty,  had 
already  won  a  reputation  for  valour  which  had  be- 
come European.  Moreover,  he  had  been  eminently 
successful  in  all  his  undertakings,  had  encouraged 
literature,  had  patronished  art,  and  had,  by  his 
extraordinary  munificence,  blinded  the  multitude  to 
those  defects  in  his  character  which  were  a  source 
of  uneasiness  to  the  more  reflective  portion  of  his 
subjects. 


1 5 19  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I  307 

Charles,  on  the  contrary,  was  cold  and  phlegmatic, 
prudent  and  calculating.  Born  and  educated  in 
Flanders,  he  was  almost  entirely  a  stranger  to  the 
electors,  with  whom  he  had  made  no  effort  to  ally 
himself  since  his  accession  to  the  Spanish  crown  ;  as 
a  soldier  he  was  utterly  unknown,  and  his  diplomacy 
had  as  yet  been  limited  to  mere,  self-defence.  In 
person  he  was  insignificant  and  unprepossessing. 
Of  middle  height  and  weak  health,  he  possessed  no 
energy  either  of  voice  or  gesture,  his  under  lip  was 
heavy  and  pendant,  his  eyes  were  cold  and  colourless, 
his  face  was  long  and  melancholy  in  its  expression, 
and  nothing  in  his  appearance  tended  to  reveal  the 
extent  of  that  genius  and  strength  of  character  by 
which  he  was  subsequently  distinguished.  Unable, 
even  as  King  of  Spain,  to  liberate  himself  from  the 
yoke  of  his  governor,  M.  de  Chievres,  and  accustomed 
to  obey  implicitly  all  his  directions,  he  had  so 
thoroughly  abnegated  his  own  powers  of  volition 
that  his  subjects  already  began  to  look  upon  him 
with  disdain  and  distrust,  and  to  murmur  among 
themselves  that  the  malady  of  his  mother  (Jeanne 
la  Folic)  was  hereditary.  During  the  year  which 
succeeded  the  treaty  of  Noyon  he  had  entirely 
absented  himself  from  Spain,  nor  had  he  visited 
Austria  until  September  15 17,  as  he  shrank  from 
encountering  the  Cardinal  Ximenes,  who  first  re- 
covered, and  then  had  established  order  and  obedience 
throughout  these  kingdoms  in  the  short  space  of 
twenty  months  ;  and  had  even,  at  the  instigation  of 
M.    de    Chievres,   written    to    him    coldly    and    un- 


3o8  THE   COURT  AND    REIGN   OF  chap,  xiii 

graciously,  advising  him  to  retire  to  his  diocese 
and  repose  himself  after  the  labour  of  his  administra- 
tion. 

The  aged  cardinal,  whose  health  was  already- 
broken,  died  on  the  very  day  upon  which  the  letter 
reached  him  (the  8th  November  15 17),  although 
not,  as  some  historians  declare,  by  fair  means.  This 
event  aroused  the  indignation  of  the  Spaniards, 
whose  respect  and  attachment  for  their  primate  had 
been  extreme ;  nor  was  their  irritation  lessened  by 
the  fact  that  his  vacant  archbishopric  of  Toledo  was 
bestowed  upon  a  nephew  of  M.  de  Chievres,  who 
was  still  a  youth.  Other  causes  of  dissatisfaction 
had  also  arisen,  and  Castile,  Aragon,  Catalonia,  and 
Valencia  alike  continued  to  dispute  his  claim  to  the 
sovereignty ;  while  several  of  the  free  towns  formed 
a  coalition  to  resist  by  force  of  arms  the  usurpation 
of  his  Flemish  advisers,  and  these  were  still  at 
Barcelona  engaged  in  opposing  the  Cortes  of  Cata- 
lonia, who  had  at  length  consented  to  recognize 
him  as  joint-sovereign  with  his  mother,  when  the 
imperial  electors  assembled  at  Frankfort  to  decide 
the  question  of  the  Germanic  succession. 

Nothing,  therefore,  under  such  circumstances  as 
these  was  likely  to  induce  the  Germans  to  elect  as 
their  emperor  a  youth  who  had  shown  so  little  in- 
clination to  conciliate  the  subjects  over  whom  he 
already  ruled,  and  who  had  exhibited  such  marked 
contempt  for  their  national  rights  and  prejudices  ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  Francis,  as  sovereign  of 
the  kingdom  of  Aries  and  the  duchy  of  Milan,  was 


15 19  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  309 

already  a  member  of  the  empire,  popular  in  his  own 
country,  and  cited  throughout  Europe  as  a  model  of 
chivalry  and  justice. 

It  is  not,  consequently,  matter  of  surprise  that 
the  French  king  looked  forward  to  a  signal  triumph 
over  his  unprepossessing  rival,  or  that  he  should  be 
sufficiently  unguarded  to  betray  the  confidence  that 
he  felt.  Moreover,  he  trusted,  and  not  without 
reason,  to  the  effect  of  the  enormous  sums  which  he 
had  caused  to  be  distributed  among  the  electors,  and 
which,  from  the  poverty  of  some  and  the  rapacity  of 
others,  had  been  unhesitatingly  accepted. 

It  was  not,  however,  according  to  Fleuranges, 
with  money  only  that  the  French  envoys  were  indis- 
creet enough  to  pursue  their  purpose ;  for  while  they 
were  scattering  gold  on  all  sides,  and  backing  it  by 
promises  which  were  forgotten  as  soon  as  uttered, 
they  also  gave  magnificent  banquets  to  the  German 
nobility,  where  the  greatest  excesses  were  encour- 
aged, and  ultimately,  in  order  to  intimidate  the 
electors,  they  contemplated  taking  into  their  pay  the 
army  of  the  confederated  cities  of  Suabia,  but  in  this 
latter  resolution  the  wary  and  calculating  Charles  had 
already  forestalled  them. 

While  the  electors  were  preparing  to  assemble  at 
the  diet  which  was  to  decide  the  future  destinies  of 
Europe,  neither  of  the  candidates  was  idle.  In  reply 
to  an  application  to  the  Pope  for  his  support,  Francis 
received  from  the  wily  pontiff  the  warmest  protesta- 
tions of  gratitude  and  attachment,  while  he  skilfully 
contrived  to  evade  any  pledge  by  which  he  might  be 


3IO  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiii 

compromised,  and  occupied  himself  in  undermining 
the  interests  of  both  sovereigns,  in  the  hope  that  the 
imperial  crown  might  devolve  to  some  less  powerful 
prince,  from  whose  ambition  Italy  would  have 
nothing  to  apprehend.  From  Henry  VIII.  the 
French  king  experienced  even  greater  duplicity ; 
for  while  he  unequivocally  promised  him  his  support 
he  secretly  gave  it  to  his  adversary.  With  the 
King  of  Poland  he  had  no  better  success,  that 
sovereign  frankly  declaring  that  he  should  adopt 
the  views  of  Louis  of  Hungary,  who  at  once  ex- 
pressed his  intention  of  supporting  the  claims  of 
Charles  of  Castile ;  while  the  other  powers  of  Europe, 
who  had  no  personal  or  political  interest  in  either 
candidate,  forgetting  how  important  such  an  event 
must  necessarily  prove  to  the  future  interests  of  their 
respective  kingdoms,  declined  to  involve  themselves 
in  the  responsibility  of  declaring  their  sentiments. 
Meanwhile  Charles,  with  less  ostentation,  was  silently 
and  incessantly  occupied  in  strengthening  his  party, 
and  quietly  profiting  by  every  false  move  into  which 
his  adversary  was  betrayed.  One  of  these,  and  that 
a  fatal  one,  enabled  him  to  advance  his  interests  in 
an  unlooked-for  manner. 

Germaine  de  Foix,  the  Dowager-Queen  of  Spain 
and  niece  of  Louis  XII.,  wearied  by  the  neglect  and 
insignificance  to  which  she  was  condemned,  and 
apprehensive  that,  on  the  return  of  Charles  to  his 
dominions,  she  should  be  subjected  to  still  greater 
annoyance,  from  the  fact  that,  being  childless,  her 
death  would  revive  the  claim  of  France  to  the  kinof- 


1 5 19  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  311 

dom  of  Naples,  had  addressed  letters  both  to 
Madame  d'Angouleme  and  her  son,  entreating  them 
to  afford  her  their  protection  in  the  event  of  her 
apprehensions  proving  well  founded.  These  over- 
tures had  been  coldly  received ;  Louise  de  Savoie, 
whose  pride  could  ill  brook  the  necessity  of  yielding 
precedence  even  to  her  daughter-in-law,  at  once 
opposing  the  return  of  Ferdinand's  widow  to  France, 
which  she  foresaw  would  be  the  result  should  any 
such  pledge  be  given  on  the  part  of  Francis. 
Not  only,  indeed,  was  her  pride  involved  in  the 
question,  but  also  her  vanity,  for  she  had  not  for- 
gotten that  the  favourite  niece  of  Louis  XII.  had 
been  one  of  the  handsomest  women  of  the  Court 
and  w^as  many  years  her  junior.  To  Francis  him- 
self the  subject  was  altogether  uninteresting  ;  he  did 
not  calculate  upon  the  advantage  which  might  accrue 
to  Charles  should  he  profit  by  this  supineness,  and, 
accordingly,  by  the  advice  of  his  mother,  very  dis- 
couraging answers  were  returned  to  the  dowager- 
queen,  who  became  at  length  so  impatient  of  the 
ceremonious  restraints  of  Spanish  etiquette  and  the 
solitude  of  a  Court  devoid  alike  of  splendour  and 
amusement  that  her  temper  gave  way  before  her  dis- 
appointment, and  even  to  the  French  ambassador 
she  permitted  herself  to  speak  in  the  most  unmea- 
sured terms  of  the  selfishness  and  bad  feeling  of  the 
monarch  and  his  mother  in  thus  forgetting  that  she 
was  a  princess  of  France  and  their  own  kinswoman. 
In  so  rigid  a  Court  as  that  of  Spain  not  a  word 
could  be  uttered  by  a  person  of  her  rank  which  was 


312  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiii 

not  overheard  and  registered,  and  accordingly  Charles 
was  soon  informed  of  the  irritation  of  the  offended 
queen  against  Francis  and  his  mother,  as  well  as  her 
weariness  of  the  restraints  to  which  she  was  sub- 
jected ;  when,  delighted  at  once  to  secure  her  good 
will  and  to  further  his  personal  views,  he  lost  no 
time  either  in  surrounding  her  with  attention  or  in 
presenting  to  her  such  individuals  as  were  able  both  to 
advance  his  own  fortune  and  to  interest  her  feelings  ; 
and  consequently  it  was  not  long  ere  he  succeeded 
in  negotiating  a  marriage  between  herself  and 
Casimir,  Marquis  de  Brandebourg,  the  brother  of 
the  Elector  Joachim  and  of  the  Bishop  of  Mayence, 
whose  suffrages  were  thus  secured  to  him  in  the 
diet. 

In  the  Low  Countries  Francis  had  also  suffered 
his  popularity  to  become  diminished  by  the  impolitic 
measures  that  he  had  adopted  towards  the  recovered 
city  of  Tournay,  which,  entirely  surrounded  by  the 
territories  of  Charles  of  Austria,  had  so  long  main- 
tained its  fidelity  to  France  simply  from  the  fact  that 
the  preceding  sovereigns  had  never  sought  to  inter- 
fere with  its  form  of  government,  which  was  that  of 
a  free  republican  city.  Their  authority  recognized 
by  the  payment  of  an  annual  tribute,  they  had  neither 
interfered  in  its  internal  administration  nor  garrisoned 
the  citadel,  but  had  recognized,  as  their  own  lieuten- 
ants, the  municipal  officers  chosen  by  the  citizens  ; 
whereas  Francis  had  no  sooner  become  master  of 
the  city  than  he  refused  to  confirm  the  ancient  privi- 
leges, which,  according  to  his  view  of  the  subject. 


I5I9  FRANCIS    THE  FIRSl^  313 

rendered  its  inhabitants  too  independent  of  his  own 
authority,  although  they  had  been  respected  even  by 
the  English,  who,  as  conquerors,  might  have  been 
excused  had  they  disregarded  them.  The  natural 
consequence  ensued  ;  a  considerable  number  of  the 
citizens  emigrated,  feeling  that  their  commercial 
interest  must  suffer  from  the  restraints  imposed  upon 
their  transactions ;  while  the  operative  classes,  thus 
deprived  of  the  means  of  existence  formerly  secured 
by  their  industry,  did  not  submit  without  murmurs 
to  the  new  thrall  by  which  they  were  impoverished ; 
and  although  the  constant  and  novel  presence  of  an 
armed  force  compelled  them  to  assume  a  semblance 
of  submission,  they  were  all  ready  to  cast  off  the 
yoke  of  France  upon  the  first  opportunity  which 
might  present  itself;  and,  adds  a  quaint  old  chron- 
icler, ''Many  a  tall yoman  that  lacked  livying fel to 
robyng,  which  would  not  labor  after  their  return^ 

Unfortunately  this  was  not  the  only  piece  of  bad 
policy  of  which  Francis  was  guilty  in  the  same  pro- 
vince, for  it  was  not  long  ere  he  alienated  from  his 
interests  the  brave  Robert  de  la  Mark,  the  sovereign 
prince  of  Bouillon  and  Sedan,  and  Due  de  Gueldres, 
who,  it  may  be  remembered,  did  such  good  service 
at  Novara ;  and,  together  with  his  valiant  sons  Fleu- 
ranges  and  Jamets,  levied  and  organized  the  lans- 
quenets who  superseded  the  Swiss  mercenaries  in 
the  armies  of  both  Louis  XII.  and  Francis  himself. 

Nor  was  the  house  of  La  Mark  distinguished  only 
in  the  field,  having  given  several  prelates  to  the  see 
of  Liege ;    while   Evrard,   the  younger   brother  of 


314  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiii 

Robert,  still  held  the  bishopric  of  that  city,  whose 
spiritual  government  he  had  directed  since  the  year 
1506.  Moreover,  the  Marquis  de  Fleuranges,  who 
had  been  one  of  the  favourite  companions  of  Francis 
in  his  youth,  was  still  actively  employed  in  his  ser- 
vice, and  entirely  devoted  to  his  interests  ;  and  his 
brother,  the  Seigneur  de  Jamets,  filled  an  important 
post  in  the  royal  army. 

While  levying  the  troops  above-mentioned,  M.  de 
la  Mark  had  formed  a  close  intimacy  with  Fran9ois 
de  Seckingen,  a  German  adventurer  who  had  ac- 
quired a  great  reputation  and  considerable  influence 
throughout  the  empire,  and  by  whose  assistance  he 
was  enabled  to  secure  the  services  of  the  before- 
named  troops  to  the  French  cause.  Seckingen  was 
one  of  those  extraordinary  men  who  occasionally 
appear  like  landmarks,  to  point  out  the  path  of  fame 
to  less  gifted  and  enterprising  natures.  Of  some- 
what obscure  family  and  small  fortune,  but  possessed 
of  indomitable  energy  and  the  most  seductive  man- 
ners, he  had  succeeded  in  rendering  himself  popular 
with  many  of  the  petty  princes  of  Germany,  some  of 
whom  occasionally  afforded  him  very  efficient  assist- 
ance in  time  of  need.  Although  not  a  soldier  by 
profession  he  was  enthusiastically  attached  to  the 
pursuit  of  arms,  and  had  organized  a  small  force  with 
which  he  carried  on  an  irregular  but  harassing  war 
against  the  emperor,  and  such  of  the  minor  states  as 
had  neglected  or  refused  to  secure  his  alliance.  The 
very  beaii  ideal  of  a  knight  of  romance,  he  was  no 
sooner  seen  in  one  place  than  he  was  heard  of  at 


15 19  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  315 

another  many  leagues  distant ;  and  while  he  was 
believed  to  be  at  one  extremity  of  the  empire  he 
made  an  attack  upon  some  hostile  sovereign  at  the 
other.  The  Due  de  Lorraine,  the  citizens  of  Metz, 
and  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse^  alike  incurred  his  dis- 
pleasure, and  were  each  compelled  to  purchase  his 
forbearance  by  a  heavy  tribute  ;  the  former,  more- 
over, not  only  in  ready  money  but  by  a  life-pension 
of  five  hundred  florins  ;  while  so  great  was  the  influ- 
ence of  his  good  fortune,  which  attracted  to  his 
standard  many  of  the  bravest  youths  of  Germany, 
that  the  Due  de  Gueldres  had  at  length  advised 
Francis  if  possible  to  attach  him  to  his  own  interests, 
no  individual  throughout  the  empire  being  enabled 
to  render  to  France  services  of  equal  value. 

The  proposition  had  been  at  once  accepted,  and 
the  duke  was  requested  to  bring  him  to  Amboise 
with  all  possible  courtesy  and  honour,  and  to  present 
him  in  person  to  the  French  king ;  while  Seckingen, 
whose  attachment  to  Robert  de  la  Mark  was  as 
warm  as  that  of  a  brother,  no  sooner  ascertained 
that  the  duke  was  anxious  to  effect  the  alliance  than 
he  hastened  to  Sedan,  accompanied  by  twelve  Ger- 
man gentlemen  of  his  troop,  and  declared  himself 
ready  to  espouse  the  interests  of  Francis. 

Little  time  was  lost  in  commencing  the  journey  ; 
and  as  full  powers  had  been  given  to  M.  de  la  Mark 
to  effect  it  in  any  manner  likely  to  prove  agreeable 
to  his  companion,  he  added  his  son  Fleuranges  to 

1  Philippe  de  Hesse,  who  subsequently  embraced  the  Lutheran 
faith,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  religious  troubles  of  Germany. 


3i6  THE   COURT  AND   REIGN  OF  chap,  xiir 

the  party,  and  proceeded  by  Chateau-Thierry  and 
other  fine  cities  towards  the  capital,  in  order  to  im- 
press the  adventurer  with  a  becoming  wonder  and 
admiration  of  the  great  kingdom  of  which  he  was 
about  to  become  the  ally. 

On  his  arrival  at  Amboise  Seckingen  was  at  once 
introduced  into  the  royal  presence,  where  the  king 
received  him  with  a  marked  courtesy  well  calculated 
to  gratify  his  vanity ;  nor  did  Madame  d'Angouleme 
fail,  "obscure  gentleman"  as  he  was,  to  overwhelm 
him  with  civility.  His  conversational  powers  de- 
lighted the  king,  who  was  never  weary  of  question- 
ing him  upon  his  exploits,  or  making  merry  at  their 
success ;  and  while  the  terms  of  their  future  alliance 
were  under  consideration  all  the  seductions  of  the 
most  brilliant  Court  in  Europe  were  put  forth  to 
captivate  his  senses  and  to  amuse  his  leisure.  Fran- 
cois, however,  even  while  he  bandied  compliments 
with  a  king  of  France,  and  found  himself  the  tem- 
porary idol  of  some  of  the  most  beautiful  women  in 
the  world,  never  for  an  instant  lost  his  self-possession, 
or  suffered  himself  to  overlook  the  real  design  of  all 
these  attentions,  or,  above  all,  to  forget  that  amid  all 
his  social  familiarity  Francis  had  never  reposed  suffi- 
cient confidence  in  his  good  faith  to  entrust  to  him 
the  real  motive  which  had  induced  him  to  desire  his 
friendship.  He  had  simply  stated  that  he  desired 
his  assistance  in  Germany,  but  he  had  said  nothing 
of  his  intention  to  contend  for  the  empire ;  and  Seck- 
ingen, who  was  as  proud  as  he  was  daring,  resented 
this  idle  show  of  reserve.      Meanwhile,  however,  all 


1 5 19  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  317 

was  carried  on  with  a  great  affectation  of  openness 
and  confidence  between  them,  and  Francis  agreed 
to  settle  upon  his  new  ally  a  yearly  pension  of  three 
thousand  francs,  in  return-  for  which  grant  Seckingen 
bound  himself  to  protect  and  uphold  the  interests  of 
the  French  king  in  Germany  and  elsewhere,  as  might 
be  required  of  him  ;  and  this  affair  concluded,  he 
took  leave  of  the  Court  with  great  honour,  and  re- 
ceived at  the  hands  of  Francis  a  gold  chain  valued 
at  three  thousand  crowns,  besides  other  presents ; 
while  each  of  the  gentlemen  of  his  suite  was  also 
presented  with  a  chain  of  less  value,  but  still  worthy 
of  the  munificence  of  the  monarch  by  whom  it  was 
bestowed.  Nevertheless  the  want  of  frankness 
which  he  had  detected  in  the  king  left  in  the  heart 
of  Seckingen  an  irritation  that  he  could  not  con- 
ceal ;  and  as  he  quitted  the  palace  with  Fleuranges, 
who  had  been  present  at  the  leavetaking,  he  ob- 
served that  courteous  and  liberal  as  Francis  had 
proved  himself,  and  worthy  as  he  appeared  of  the 
eminent  station  which  he  filled,  he,  for  his  part, 
would  gladly  have  dispensed  with  the  richest  of  his 
gifts  to  have  felt  that  his  own  intentions  were  better 
appreciated,  and  to  have  been  treated  with  somewhat 
less  courtesy  and  more  confidence. 

**  The  king  mistakes  his  own  interest  by  this  ill- 
timed  caution,"  he  said  warmly,  "and  does  not 
understand  the  man  with  whom  he  has  to  deal. 
Why  could  he  not  at  once  acknowledge  that  he 
aspired  to  the  empire  ?  He  would  have  told  me 
nothing  of  which  I  was  not  already  well  aware,  and 


3i8  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiii 

I  should  have  felt  more  desire  to  further  his  purpose. 
Tell  him,  however,  I  pray  you,  from  me,  that  I  am 
ready  to  serve  him  according  to  the  pledge  which  I 
have  given,  against  all  Christendom,  save  only  your 
own  house  ;  and  that  when  I  asked  of  him  the  men- 
at-arms  which  he  saw  fit  to  refuse,  it  was  not  that 
they  might  add  to  my  own  consequence,  or  serve  my 
own  purposes,  but  solely  with  the  intention  of  gain- 
ing over  some  of  the  German  gentlemen  to  his  inte- 
rests. I  and  mine  will,  however,  loyally  redeem  our 
pledge,  as  he  shall  hereafter  acknowledge ;  and  you 
may  also  tell  him  that  the  princes  in  whom  he  places 
a  faith  which  he  has  not  condescended  to  extend  to 
a  simple  gentleman  like  myself,  will  deceive  him  ; 
while  I,  whom  he  has  not  deigned  to  trust,  shall 
with  your  good  help,  be  enabled  to  revenge  him  of 
their  perfidy." 

On  his  return  to  Germany  Seckingen  resumed 
the  free  system  of  warfare  to  which  he  had  been  so 
long  accustomed  ;  and  meanwhile  events  occurred  at 
the  Court  of  France  which  were  destined  to  shake 
his  alliance  with  Francis.  The  king,  since  his  re- 
conciliation with  the  Swiss  cantons,  had  ceased  to 
feel  the  same  interest  in  his  German  auxiliaries  ; 
and,  no  longer  relying  upon  their  aid  in  case  of 
necessity,  even  relaxed  in  the  regard  which  he  had 
previously  evinced  for  the  Due  de  Gueldres  himself, 
who  was  specially  obnoxious  to  Madame  d'Angou- 
leme  from  the  fact  that  he  had,  during  her  exile  from 
the  Court  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XII.,  been  a  firm 
and   zealous    adherent    of  Anne   de    Bretagne,    for 


1519  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  319 

whom  he  was  suspected  of  a  regard  which  exceeded 
the  mere  attachment  of  a  subject  to  his  queen. 

Believing,  therefore,  that  her  son  was  now  inde- 
pendent of  his  services,  Louise  de  Savoie  suffered 
her  pent-up  hatred  to  appear,  and  urged  Francis  to 
disband  the  company  of  a  hundred  men  then  under 
the  command  of  the  duke  on  the  pretext  of  their  in- 
efficient state  of  discipline,  and  to  discontinue  the 
regular  payment  of  his  pensions  ;  while  she  pri- 
vately committed  a  still  more  glaring  act  of  treachery 
towards  his  brother,  the  Prince-Bishop  of  Liege,  who 
was  a  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the  conclave,  and  to 
whom  Francis  had  definitively  promised  the  first 
vacant  cardinalate  which  had  been  left  at  his  dis- 
posal by  the  Pope. 

The  avarice  of  Louise  de  Savoie  being  as  unsati- 
able  as  her  enmity,  she  was  easily  induced  by  the 
offer  of  a  considerable  sum  of  money  to  address  a 
private  letter  to  the  pontiff ;  in  which  she  declared 
that  the  application  about  to  be  made  to  his  holiness 
by  the  French  king  in  favour  of  the  Bishop  of  Liege 
was  a  mere  measure  of  policy  enforced  upon  him  by 
circuriistances,  while  he  was  in  reality  anxious  to 
secure  the  coveted  dignity  for  Boyer,  Bishop  of 
Bourges,  the  brother  of  Thomas  Bahier,  Lieutenant- 
general  of  Normandy  and  Treasurer  of  the  Savings- 
chest,  one  of  her  own  creatures  ;  nor  was  she  deterred 
from  this  unworthy  action  by  the  fact  that  she  had 
been  present  when  Francis  placed  in  the  possession 
of  the  Marquis  de  Fleuranges  a  despatch  to  his 
uncle,  signed  both  by  himself  and   his   mother,    in 


320  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiii 

which  they  informed  M.  de  Liege  of  his  promotion, 
and  congratulated  him  on  his  new  dignity ;  neither 
did  her  hand  tremble  as  it  was  pressed  to  the  lips  of 
the  young  courtier  on  his  departure  from  Amboise, 
to  convey  the  happy  tidings  to  his  venerable  relative, 
although  she  knew  that  he  must  prove  the  messenger 
of  lasting  and  bitter  disappointment.  Leo,  never 
doubting  that  Francis  was  cognizant  of  the  contents 
of  his  mother's  letter,  did  not  hesitate  for  an  instant ; 
Boyer  was  created  cardinal ;  and  the  price  of  this 
nefarious  transaction  duly  reached  the  coffers  of  the 
unprincipled  duchess. 

Aleandro,^  the  Chancellor  of  Liege,  who  was  then 
at  Rome,  where  he  was  exerting  himself  to  secure 
the  election  of  his  master,  no  sooner  learnt  that  M. 
de  Bourges  had  obtained  the  cardinalate  which  had 
been  promised  to  his  own  diocesan  by  the  king  than, 
apprehending  treachery,  he  strained  every  nerve  to 
ascertain  the  truth ;  and  at  length,  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  pontifical  secretary,  he  obtained 
a  copy  of  the  letter  addressed  by  Madame  d'Angou- 
leme  to  the  Pope,  which  he  immediately  forwarded 
to  the  Due  de  Gueldres.  The  indignation  of  Robert 
de  la  Mark  was  unbounded  when  he  learnt  the  de- 
ception which  had  been  practised  upon  his  brother  ; 
and  he  reproached  the  monarch  bitterly  for  so  glar- 
ing a  breach  of  veracity  and  good  faith,  representing 

1  Jeromio  Aldandro  was  a  celebrated  Italian  scholar,  who  had 
been  invited  to  France  by  Louis  XII.,  by  whom  he  was  appointed 
Professor  of  Literature  in  the  University  of  Paris,  He  was  subse- 
quently chancellor  to  Evrard  de  la  Mark,  Prince-Bishop  of  Li^ge, 
and  ultimately  became  a  cardinal  during  the  pontificate  of  Paul  III. 


1 5 19  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST        '  321 

that  he  had  already  suffered  sufficiently  in  his  own 
person  and  fortunes  from  some  groundless  prejudice, 
and  that  it  was  a  gratuitous  injustice  to  involve  his 
relatives  in  the  same  ruin. 

Deeply  moved  by  an  accusation  which  affected 
his  honour,  Francis  strenuously  and  at  once  denied 
all  knowledge  of  the  intrigue,  when  the  duke  laid 
before  him  the  duplicate  letter  he  had  received 
from  Rome,  and  even  hinted  at  his  expectation 
of  redress,  whereupon  the  king  became  irritated, 
and  high  words  passed  between  them,  the  effects 
of  which  M.  de  la  Mark  evaded  by  retiring  im- 
mediately from  the  Court  to  his  own  territories, 
accompanied  by  his  brother ;  and  their  arrival  no 
sooner  became  known  to  Margaret  of  Austria, 
the  regent,  than  she  hastened  to  engage  them  to 
embrace  the  cause  of  her  nephew  Charles,  assuring 
to  M.  de  Liege  the  cardinal's  hat  through  his  in- 
fluence, and  urging  the  duke  to  return  to  Francis 
the  collar  of  St.  Michael,  and  to  trust  to  his  new 
master  for  the  honours  to  which,  by  a  career  like 
his,  he  was  so  justly  entitled.  Exasperated  by  the 
treatment  which  they  had  received  at  the  Court 
of  France,  the  brothers  at  once  consented ;  and 
thus  Francis  not  only  lost  two  of  his  most  zealous 
adherents,  but  by  the  same  fatal  mistake  strength- 
ened the  hands  of  his  adversary. 

The  surprise  of  both  Louise  de  Savoie  and  the 
king  was  extreme  when  they  learnt  that  M.  de 
Liege  had  actually  deserted  their  cause ;  as  from 
the  fact  that   he    held   the    bishopric   of  Chartres, 

VOL.  I  21 


322  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiii 

one  of  the  richest  in  France,  they  believed  them- 
selves secure  of  his  allegiance,  never  supposing 
that  he  would  voluntarily  resign  so  important  and 
valuable  a  benefice.  They  had,  however,  over- 
looked the  extent  of  the  provocation  he  had  re- 
ceived, and  discovered,  when  it  was  too  late,  that 
where  he  had  felt  his  honour  wounded  he  scorned 
to  sacrifice  his  sense  of  dignity  to  considerations  of 
interest. 

The  defection  of  the  princes  of  Bouillon  tended, 
moreover,  greatly  to  diminish  the  zeal  of  Seckingen, 
who,  having  been  apprized  that  some  German 
traders  had  been  grievously  wronged  by  certain 
Milanese  merchants,  at  once  adopted  their  quarrel, 
and  by  force  of  arms  seized  property  belonging 
to  the  aggressors,  valued  at  twenty- five  thousand 
francs,  on  its  transit  through  the  German  states. 
The  merchants  immediately  appealed  to  Francis 
for  redress,  complaining  that  they  had  been  thus 
pillaged  by  troops  in  his  own  pay ;  whereupon  the 
king  called  upon  Seckingen  to  declare  upon  what 
authority  he  had  coerced  his  good  subjects  of  Milan, 
and  impeded  their  commerce ;  to  which  the  Ger- 
man leader  boldly  replied  by  declaring  that  he  had 
only  acted  on  this  occasion  in  conformity  with  the 
vow  which  he  had  made  on  first  taking  up  arms, 
that  he  would  redress  the  wrongs  of  the  oppressed, 
and  revenge  them  upon  their  oppressors.  That 
accordingly,  as  the  German  citizens  had  been 
wronged,  and  were  too  weak  to  defend  themselves, 
he    had    done  justice    for    them ;   and   trusted   that 


1 5 19  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  323 

in  future  the  Milanese  would  know  better  than  to 
assume  to  themselves  an  impunity  to  which  they 
were  in  no  wise  entitled. 

Francis  was  unable  to  brook  the  fearlessness 
of  such  a  reply ;  and  becoming  apprehensive  that 
he  had  rather  raised  up  an  antagonist  than  secured 
a  friend  in  the  person  of  an  individual  who  thus 
dared  to  brave  his  authority,  he  discontinued  the 
pension  which  he  had  conferred  upon  Seckingen, 
who,  finding  himself  freed  by  this  impolitic  measure 
from  his  engagements  to  France,  lost  no  time  in 
joining  the  Due  de  Gueldres  and  his  brother,  and 
in  transferring  his  services,  as  they  had  previously 
done,  to  Charles  of  Spain,  whose  cause  he  mate- 
rially assisted  during  the  election  by  putting  him- 
self at  the  head  of  the  Suabian  troops  (whom  the 
envoys  of  Francis  had  been  improvident  enough 
to  overlook  until  it  was  too  late)  and  occupying 
the  neighbourhood  of  Frankfort ;  pacifically  to  all 
appearance,  it  is  true,  but  in  reality  in  readiness 
for  any  adventure  which  might  offer  itself  to  his 
quixotic  spirit  in  the  interest  of  his  new  master, — 
a  fact  which  was  so  evident  to  the  electors  them- 
selves that  it  was  believed  to  have  exerted  con- 
siderable power  upon  their  decision. 

An  evil  influence  appeared,  indeed,  to  preside 
over  all  the  movements  of  Francis  at  this  period, 
for  alike  by  supineness  and  action  he  equally  lost 
ground ;  while  Charles,  who  was  far  too  wary  to 
make  enemies  at  such  a  juncture,  held  himself 
prepared  to  take  advantage  of  every  circumstance 


324  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiii 

by  which  he  might  augment  his  popularity.  The 
German  princes,  ready  as  they  were  to  profit  by 
the  profuse  generosity  of  the  French  king,  were 
yet  revolted  by  the  ostentation  with  which  it  was 
proffered ;  while  the  quiet  and  unobtrusive  manner 
in  which  Charles,  with  equal  liberality,  distributed 
his  treasure,  enabled  them  to  avoid  the  mortifica- 
tion of  considering  that  he  had  put  a  price  upon 
their  services.  Conscious,  also,  of  the  ambitious 
character  of  Francis,  they  shrank  from  the  idea 
of  elevating  to  the  imperial  dignity  a  monarch  who 
might  hereafter  consider  them  rather  as  vassals 
than  as  sovereigns ;  while,  ignorant  of  the  real 
nature  of  Charles,  they  deluded  themselves  with 
the  belief  that  he  would  never  seek  to  arrogate 
to  himself  a  greater  amount  of  power  than  they 
might  be  willing  to  concede  to  him. 

When  endeavouring  to  obtain  the  suffrage  of 
Henry  VIII.,  Francis  had  expressed  himself  de- 
termined to  make  war  upon  the  Turks  ;  although, 
as  we  have  already  shown,  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  he  never  for  an  instant  seriously 
entertained  such  an  idea.  Suffice  it  that  he  had 
assured  Sir  Thomas  Boleyn,  the  English  ambas- 
sador, that,  should  he  succeed  in  becoming  Emperor 
of  Germany,  "  three  years  should  not  elapse  ere 
he  would  be  in  Constantinople,  or  die  by  the  way ; 
and  that  he  would  spend  three  millions  in  gold, 
but  he  would  succeed ; "  but  nevertheless,  when 
some  Turkish  corsairs  who  were  infesting  the 
Mediterranean  and   impeding  the  commerce  of  the 


1 5 19  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  325 

Italian  states  were  bold  enough  to  make  a  demon- 
stration which  alarmed  not  only  the  population 
generally,  but  even  the  Pope  himself,  he  was  so 
tardy  in  fitting  out  an  expedition  to  attack  them 
that,  before  his  vessels  were  ready  for  sea,  Charles 
had  despatched  his  galleys  under  the  command  of 
Ugo  de  Moncada,^  the  Viceroy  of  Sicily,  and  dis- 
persed their  whole  fleet.  This  delay  on  the  part 
of  the  French  monarch,  and  activity  on  that  oif 
Charles,  had  a  powerful  effect  on  the  electors  ;  and, 
beyond  all  doubt,  gave  the  last  blow  to  his  hopes. 

^  Ugo  de  Moncada  was  the  representative  of  an  ancient  and 
illustrious  family  of  Catalonia,  who  were  at  one  period  sovereigns  of 
Beam.  He  first  attached  himself  to  the  fortunes  of  Charles  VIII., 
and  subsequently  to  those  of  Caesar  Borgia ;  after  which  he  entered 
the  Spanish  army.  He  distinguished  himself  greatly  against  the 
pirates  of  the  Levant,  and  continued  to  render  important  services  to 
Charles  V.,  while  Viceroy  of  Sicily.  Made  prisoner  by  Andrea 
Doria,  in  1524,  he  recovered  his  liberty  at  the  peace  of  Madrid. 
He  took  Rome  in  1527,  and  was  killed  in  the  following  year,  at  the 
naval  engagement  of  Capo  d'Orso. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

1519-20 

The  electoral  diet  convened  at  Frankfort — Death  of  M.  de  Boissy — Charles 
proclaimed  Emperor  of  Germany — Mortification  of  the  French  Ministers 
— Self-command  of  Francis — Birth  of  a  prince — Henry  VIII.  becomes 
his  sponsor — Progress  of  the  Lutheran  faith — Louise  de  Savoie 
establishes  herself  at  the  Tuileries — Francis  resolves  to  rebuild  the 
Louvre — Bonnivet  excites  the  king  to  enter  upon  a  new  war — Francis 
bribes  Wolsey — Henry  and  Francis  arrange  a  personal  interview — The 
Navarrese  question  is  revived  between  the  emperor  and  the  French 
king — Critical  position  of  Charles  V. — The  field  of  cloth  of  gold — 
The  banquet — The  treaty — The  tourney — Fearlessness  of  Francis — An 
exchange  of  visits — The  two  queens — The  parting  mass — Confirmation 
of  the  treaty — Departure  of  Henry  VIII.  for  Gravelines — Francis  returns 
to  France. 

Thus  were  things  situated  when,  in  the  middle 
of  June,  the  electoral  diet  was  convened  in  the 
usual  form  in  the  city  of  Frankfort ;  but,  before 
its  proceedings  commenced,  Francis  had  sustained 
an  irreparable  loss  in  the  death  of  M.  de  Boissy, 
his  ancient  governor,  who  had  been  busied  at  Mont- 
pelier  in  conjunction  with  M.  de  Chievres,  the 
minister  of  Charles,  in  endeavouring  to  reconcile 
the  interests  of  the  rival  sovereigns,  and  thus  pre- 
serve Europe  from  the  horrors  of  an  universal 
war.  They  had  already  been  engaged  for  two 
months  in  this  momentous  undertaking,  and  had 
begun  to  entertain  some  hopes  of  ultimate  success, 
when  M.  de  Boissy,  who  had  long  been  an  invalid, 


I5I9-20        COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I  327 

experienced  a  renewed  and  more  severe  attack  of 
his  malady,  to  which  he  fell  a  victim. 

This  event  was  a  serious  one  to  Francis,  whose 
natural  impetuosity  and  recklessness  had  been  fre- 
quently checked  by  the  wise  and  prudent  admoni- 
tions of  the  grand-master ;  and  at  this  particular 
crisis  it  was  doubly  unfortunate,  leaving  him,  as  it 
did,  to  the  mercy  of  more  interested  and  less 
judicious  counsellors ;  and,  above  all,  to  the  in- 
fluence of  his  mother,  who  ere  this  period  had 
succeeded,  with  more  or  less  difficulty,  in  bending 
to  her  imperious  will  all  the  ministers  of  the  crown 
with  the  exception  of  Boissy  himself,  whose  earnest 
devotion  to  the  interests  of  his  former  pupil  ren- 
dered him  invulnerable  alike  to  threats,  bribes,  and 
flattery. 

Nor  was  the  death  of  M.  de  Boissy  the  only 
fatal  privation  experienced  by  the  young  king 
during  the  course  of  the  present  year,  for  the 
veteran  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  a  month  or  two  sub- 
sequently, terminated  his  earthly  career  at  the  ripe 
age  of  seventy- five.  Francis  was  affectionately 
attached  to  his  distinguished  proUgd,  whom  he  had 
loaded  with  honours,  and  he  no  sooner  ascertained 
that  his  end  was  approaching  than  he  hastened 
to  the  death -chamber.  Da  Vinci  had  just  received 
the  last  consolations  of  religion  when  he  discovered 
the  presence  of  the  king,  and,  despite  his  exhaus- 
tion, he  endeavoured  to  rise  in  his  bed,  in  order 
to  express  his  sense  of  the  favour  which  was  thus 
shown  him  ;  but  the  effort  was  too  great,  and  before 


328  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

he  had  uttered  more  than  a  few  sentences  expres- 
sive of  his  regret  that  he  had  not  used  his  talents 
more  profitably  for  religion,  he  was  seized  with  a 
paroxysm  which  rendered  him  speechless.  As  he 
fell  back  upon  his  pillow  the  king  sprang  forward 
and  raised  his  head  upon  his  arm,  and  thus,  upon 
the  bosom  of  the  young  monarch,  Leonardo  da 
Vinci  drew  his  last  breath.  The  good  effects  of 
his  sojourn  at  the  French  Court  did  not,  however, 
expire  with  him.  Although  he  had  declined,  owing 
to  his  advanced  age,  to  undertake  any  new  work, 
he  had  given  public  lessons  and  lectures  which 
had  awakened  an  emulation  in  art  destined  to  pro- 
duce the  most  beneficial  results ;  and  the  three 
famous  artists,  Cousin,  Janet,  and  Limoges,  were 
alike  his  pupils. 

Towards  the  close  of  June  the  diet  at  length 
assembled,  when  the  deliberations  were  opened  by 
the  Archbishop  of  Mayence,  who,  in  a  speech  ot 
great  length,  consummate  tact,  and  extraordinary 
eloquence,  pleaded  the  cause  of  Charles.  He 
argued  that,  should  the  electors  invest  Francis  with 
the  imperial  dignity,  he  would  inevitably  endeavour 
to  annihilate  the  liberties  of  Germany,  even  as  he 
was  now  endeavouring  to  subjugate  those  of  Italy  ; 
and  that  he  would  also,  beyond  all  doubt,  exert  his 
influence  to  render  the  crown  hereditary,  and  thus 
aggrandize  his  successors  by  the  prostration  of  the 
privilege  at  present  enjoyed  by  the  electors.  "  How 
little  can  it  be  expected,"  he  pursued,  "  that  he  will 
continue  either  to  the  princes  or  to  the  free  terri- 


I5I9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  329 

tories  the  liberty  they  have  so  long  enjoyed  when 
experience  has  shown  us  that  even  in  France,  where 
formerly  the  great  nobles  dispensed  justice  and  exe- 
cuted judgment  within  their  own  provinces,  not  one. 
princely  personage  is  now  to  be  found  who  does  not 
quail  before  the  slightest  gesture  of  the  king,  or  who 
dares  do  otherwise  than  applaud  all  which  it  may  be 
his  royal  pleasure  to  say  or  do."  He  next  warned 
the  electors  not  to  be  misled  by  the  promises  of 
the  French  ambassadors,  who  had  stated  that  their 
sovereign,  immediately  that  he  should  have  attained 
the  imperial  crown,  was  prepared  to  direct  the  whole 
strength  of  his  kingdom  against  the  Infidels,  re- 
minding them  that  an  opportunity  had  recently 
occurred  in  which  he  might  have  proved  his  good 
faith  and  zeal  in  a  cause  so  important  to  all  Chris- 
tendom, and  in  which  he  had  failed,  leaving  to  the 
King  of  Castile,  who  had  made  no  protestations 
upon  the  subject,  the  noble  task  of  sweeping  the 
seas  of  the  first  Mahomedan  fleet  which  had  dared 
to  menace  the  shores  of  Italy.  "No!"  he  con- 
cluded energetically,  "it  is  not  in  order  to  subjugate 
the  Infidels  that  the  King  of  France  covets  the 
throne  of  Germany  :  it  is  that  he  may  slake  the 
thirst  of  that  ambition  by  which  he  is  known  to  be 
possessed.  It  is  that  he  may  secure  alike  to  him- 
self and  to  his  children  the  proudest  diadem  in 
Europe.  It  is,  in  short,  that  he  may  be  enabled 
through  this  accession  of  strength  to  possess  himself 
of  the  inheritance  of  Charles  in  the  Low  Countries 
and  Spain,  and  involve  all  Europe  in  a  ruinous  and 


330  THE   COURT  AND   REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

interminable  war,  which  would  be  alike  costly  and 
degrading  to  the  German  empire." 

The  Archbishop  of  Treves  argued  in  reply  that 
the  King  of  Castile  was  as  thoroughly  a  foreigner 
as  Francis ;  that  he  had  been  both  born  and  edu- 
cated in  the  Low  Countries,  and  that,  consequently, 
the  German  people  could  have  neither  sympathies 
nor  prejudices  in  common  with  a  prince  of  whose 
habits,  tastes,  and  tendencies  they  were  wholly 
ignorant.  He  laid,  moreover,  great  stress  upon  the 
fact  that  the  geographical  position  of  the  French 
king's  dominions  rendered  him  the  most  eligible 
candidate  for  the  imperial  dignity,  as  France  might 
be  conveniently  united  with  both  Germany  and 
Italy,  and  thus  form  a  compact  portion  of  the  em- 
pire ;  whereas  Spain,  separated  from  Germany  by 
France,  would  necessarily  oppose  her  national  anti- 
pathies to  the  common  interest,  and  either  refuse  to 
suffer  her  monarch  to  absent  himself  from  her  own 
territories,  or  encourage  his  views  of  domination  in 
Italy,  which  were  no  less  to  be  deprecated  than 
those  of  Francis. 

It  will  be  obvious,  on  reviewing  the  arguments 
of  both  orators,  that  they  were  rather  objective  than 
laudatory  ;  each  found  tangible  reasons  for  opposing 
his  adversary,  while  neither  could  advance  very 
valid  ones  for  supporting  his  own  candidate ;  and  it 
was  probably  from  this  cause  that  the  electors,  after 
having  patiently  listened  to  the  discussion,  resolved 
to  maintain  their  independence  by  rejecting  both, 
and  placing  the  imperial  authority  in  the  hands  of 


I5I9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  331 

one  of  their  own  body.  In  pursuance  of  this  de- 
termination, the  empire  was  offered,  on  the  4th  of 
July,  to  Frederic,  Duke  of  Saxony,  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  mental  and  moral  qualifications  of  that 
prince  reflected  honour  on  their  judgment ;  but 
Frederic  was  too  wise  to  indulge  his  ambition  at  the 
expense  of  his  true  interests,  and  he  at  once  felt 
that  he  was  not  strong  enough  to  brave  the  ani- 
mosity of  two  powerful  monarchs.  He  therefore 
firmly  withstood  the  temptation,  recommending  the 
electors  who  had  evinced  such  confidence  in  himself 
to  elevate  to  the  imperial  throne  the  grandson  of 
Maximilian,  whose  interests  were  identified  with 
those  of  Germany,  and  whose  prompt  courage  and 
judicious  zeal  had  already  been  displayed  in  his  late 
expedition  against  their  common  enemy,  the  Infidel. 
The  King  of  Bohemia,  the  Marquis  of  Branden- 
burg, and  the  Prelates  of  Cologne  and  Mayence 
supported  the  proposition ;  and  ultimately,  on  the 
5th  of  July,  Charles  was  proclaimed  Emperor  of 
Germany  in  the  church  of  St.  Barthelemy,  by  the 
universal  suffrages  of  the  assembly. 

A  solemn  embassy  was  despatched  to  Barcelona, 
where  Charles  was  then  residing,  to  announce  his 
election,  and  to  invite  him  to  repair  with  all  possible 
speed  to  his  new  dominions ;  greatly  to  the  dis- 
pleasure of  his  Spanish  subjects,  who  had  vainly 
endeavoured  to  dissuade  him  from  prosecuting  his 
attempts  at  empire,  and  who,  being  already  irri- 
tated by  the  authority  arrogated  by  the  Flemish 
favourites  of  the  monarch,  very  naturally  anticipated 


332  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

equal  mortification  from  the  Germans  so  soon  as 
Charles  should  find  it  necessary  to  his  interests  to 
invest  them  with  office,  or  to  conciliate  them  by 
honours  and  emoluments  wrested  from  themselves. 

The  young  monarch,  however,  disregarded  their 
arguments,  and  after  having  given  the  ambassadors 
a  magnificent  reception,  accepted  the  new  dignity 
with  which  he  had  been  invested  by  the  electoral 
college,  pledging  himself  religiously  to  observe  the 
conditions  which  were  annexed  to  it. 

While  this  ceremony  was  going  forward  in  Spain 
the  French  ministers  hastened  to  return  to  their 
own  country,  deeply  mortified  by  their  defeat,  and 
full  of  regret  for  the  enormous  sums  which  they  had 
so  uselessly  lavished.  Bonnivet  alone  was  still  in 
possession  of  some  portion  of  the  treasure  which 
had  been  confided  to  him,  and  he  lost  no  time  in 
making  his  escape  in  order  to  place  it  in  security — a 
precaution  which  proved  to  have  been  well-founded, 
as  it  narrowly  escaped  falling  into  the  hands  of 
Seckingen,  who  had  organized  a  plan  for  possessing 
himself  of  the  state-chest,  and  diminishing  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  baffled  favourite. 

Francis  bitterly  felt  his  defeat.  It  was  not  alone 
the  loss  of  the  empire  which  galled  him,  but  the 
conviction  that  he  had  been  worsted  by  an  adver- 
sary whom  he  had  been  ill  advised  enough  to  de- 
spise, because  ignorant  of  his  real  character  and 
resources.  Now,  however,  he  was  at  once  made 
aware  of  his  error ;  the  skilful  measures  and  quiet 
perseverance  of  Charles   had   triumphed   over   his 


1519-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  333 

own  profusion  and  previsions ;  and  in  their  first 
struggle  for  pre-eminence  he  had  been  signally 
worsted.  Nevertheless,  stung  as  he  was,  he  dis- 
dained to  betray  the  excess  of  his  mortification  and 
disappointment ;  and  he  even  controlled  his  real 
feelings  so  far  as  to  write  to  the  Pope  at  the  close 
of  the  election,  declaring  that  he  rejoiced  to  have 
failed  in  a  chimerical  project  which  had  been  put 
into  his  head  by  certain  of  the  German  princes, 
particularly  as  he  had  ascertained  from  his  uncle, 
M.  de  Savoie,  that  it  was  most  unpalatable  to  his 
subjects,  who  were  apprehensive  that  the  obliga- 
tions which  would  have  been  imposed  on  him,  had 
he  succeeded,  would  have  interfered,  with  the  in- 
terests of  France. 

On  the  31st  of  March  in  this  year  (15 19)  the 
queen  had  given  birth  to  a  second  son,  at  St.  Ger- 
main-en- Laye,  and  Francis  had,  in  anticipation  of 
the  event,  already  instructed  Sir  Richard  Wingfield 
to  solicit  Henry  VIII.,  in  the  event  of  his  hope  being 
realized  by  the  birth  of  a  prince,  to  stand  sponsor 
for  the  child,  and  to  give  him  his  own  name. 

To  this  proposition  Henry  at  once  acceded,  and 
the  ceremony  was  performed  on  the  4th  of  June, 
Sir  Thomas  Boleyn  officiating  as  proxy  for  his 
sovereign,  in  conjunction  with  the  Due  d'AlenQon 
and  the  Duchesse  de  Nemours.  At  the  termina- 
tion of  the  baptismal  service  Francis  expressed  to 
the  English  ambassador  his  sense  of  the  great 
honour  which  had  been  conferred  upon  him  by  the 
"king's  highnesse,"  and  the  gratification  which  he 


334  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

should  feel  when,  in  his  turn,  Henry  should  become 
the  father  of  a  son,  to  do  the  like  for  him ;  de- 
claring that  meanwhile  the  child  who  now  bore  his 
name  should  no  sooner  have  attained  to  an  age 
qualifying  him  for  such  a  privilege  than  he  would 
forthwith  send  him  to  the  king's  grace  in  England 
to  do  him  service. 

The  Lutheran  party  had  profited  by  the  late  in- 
terregnum to  increase  their  influence  and  to  propa- 
gate their  dogmas,  which  they  had  been  enabled  to 
do  with  little  molestation.  It  is  true  that  Maximilian 
had  endeavoured  near  the  close  of  his  life  to  suppress 
the  new  sect,  from  which  he  began  to  apprehend 
danger ;  but  the  two  vicars  of  the  empire,  the  Duke 
of  Saxony  and  the  Elector  Palatine,  who  assumed 
the  imperial  authority  immediately  after  his  death, 
had  already  become  converts  to  the  reformed  tenets, 
and  protected  Luther  from  all  persecution ;  while 
Charles,  who  owed  his  new  dignity  to  the  former, 
whose  German  territories  were  not  safe  from  the 
incursions  of  the  Turks,  and  who  already  detected 
the  germs  of  revolt  in  Spain,  wilfully  closed  his  eyes 
to  the  religious  troubles  in  Saxony,  and  left  the  care 
of  suppressing  them  to  the  Pope.  As  the  imme- 
diate interests  of  the  French  king  were  not,  how- 
ever, involved  in  the  controversy,  we  shall  abstain 
from  a  recapitulation  of  circumstances  already  fami- 
liar to  all  our  readers,  which  have  been  repeatedly 
detailed  much  more  ably  than  we  could  hope  to  relate 
them,  and  confine  ourselves  to  matters  more  strictly 
within  our  own  province. 


ISI9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  335 

Early  in  this  year  Louise  de  Savoie,  finding  her- 
self inconvenienced  by  the  closeness  of  the  apart- 
ments which  she  occupied  in  the  palace  of  the 
Tournelles  during  her  occasional  residence  in  the 
capital,  had  induced  her  son  to  purchase  for  her  a 
residence  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine  with  an  exten- 
sive garden,  and  commanding  the  most  varied  and 
delightful  views  of  the  surrounding  country ;  in 
exchange  for  which  the  proprietor,  Nicolas  de  Neu- 
ville,  Seigneur  de  Villeray,  received  the  estate  of 
Chanteloup  near  Montlhery.  Large  sums  of  money 
were  expended  on  the  embellishment  of  this  house, 
where  Francis  frequently  visited  his  mother,  and 
where  he  indulged  that  passion  for  magnificence  for 
which  he  had  always  been  distinguished.  Costly 
hangings  of  Flanders  tapestry,  inlaid  furniture, 
panelled  mirrors,  and  vessels  of  gold  and  silver, 
were  to  be  seen  on  every  side ;  and  such  was  the 
origin  of  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries,  which  Catherine 
de'  Medici  subsequently  converted  at  once  into  a 
royal  abode  and  a  national  monument.  The  young 
king  was  so  enchanted  by  the  capabilities  of  the 
spot  that  he  forthwith  resolved  to  rebuild  the  Louvre, 
a  work  which  he  accordingly  commenced,  but  of 
which  he  was  not  destined  to  do  more  than  lay  the 
foundation. 

Meanwhile  he  found  it  agreeable  to  escape  from 
the  gloomy  apartments  of  his  own  palace,  or  from 
the  rigid  circle  of  his  wife,  to  wander  over  the 
smooth  lawns  and  among  the  dense  shrubberies  of 
the  gardens  of  the  Tuileries  with  the  bright-eyed 


336  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

and  light-headed  ladies  of  the  more  indulgent 
duchess ;  to  glide  over  the  calm  current  of  the 
Seine  in  a  gilded  barge,  with  Madame  de  Chateau- 
briand by  his  side  ;  or  to  angle  under  the  shade  of  a 
silken  pavilion,  while  Marot^  recited  to  him  his  last 
new  poem  or  eulogized  the  somewhat  indifferent 
effusions  of  the  monarch  himself,  who,  believing 
that  he  could  at  will  become  a  poet,  as  he  imagined 
that  he  had  already  become  a  scholar,  was  constantly 
amusing  himself  by  the  composition  of  lyrical  and 
amatory  verses,  which,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
delighted  the  whole  Court. 

It  is  probable  that  the  jealousy  which  existed 
between  the  new  emperor  and  the  King  of  France 
might  have  slumbered  for  a  time  had  not  the  death 
of  M.  de  Boissy  occurred  at  so  unfortunate  a 
moment ;  for,  conscious  how  much  the  nation  had 
already  become  impoverished  by  the  Milanese  ex- 
pedition and  the  contest  for  the  imperial  crown,  that 
upright  and  prudent  minister  had  left  no  measure 
untried  to  dissuade  Francis  from  undertaking  a  new 
war.  The  people  already  murmured  at  the  increased 
taxation  which  these  speculations  had  rendered  im- 

1  element  Marot  was  born  at  Cahors  in  1495,  and  succeeded  his 
father  Jehan  Marot  as  valet-de-chatnbre  to  Francis  I.,  whom  he  accom- 
panied to  the  battle  of  Pavia.  Being  accused  of  heresy_^he  was  im- 
prisoned, but  afterwards  liberated  by  the  Queen  of  Navarre.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  correct  and  elegant  of  the  French  prose  writers, 
and  the  first  poet  of  his  day.  His  Epistle  to  Francis  /.,  his  Rondeaux, 
his  Sonnets,  his  Epigrams,  his  Elegies,  and  his  Ballads,  have  obtained 
for  him  a  lasting  reputation.  His  Translation  of  the  Psalms  of 
David,  continued  by  M.  de  B^ze,  were  long  used  in  the  Protestant 
churches.  He  also  wrote  a  poem  entitled  Hell,  which  was  a  biting 
satire  upon  the  legal  profession.      He  died  in  1544. 


I5I9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  337 

perative ;  and  while  Duprat,  anxious  at  once  to 
enrich  himself  and  Madame  d'Angouleme,  affected 
to  believe  that  the  nation  still  possessed  many- 
resources  which  would  suffice  to  meet  any  new 
demand  upon  its  revenues,  Gouffier  de  Boissy 
looked  with  a  steady  eye  at  present  discontents,  and 
foresaw  the  moment  when  the  sovereign  would  come 
into  a  contact  with  his  overburthened  people  which 
might  prove  fatal  to  both.  The  outlay  of  the  Court 
was  in  itself  excessive  ;  but  with  the  prescience  of  a 
wary  statesman  he  preferred  to  encourage  an  evil 
to  which  he  felt  that  he  could  apply  a  remedy  rather 
than  weakly  to  permit  a  greater  which  it  might  be 
beyond  his  skill  to  counteract ;  and  thus  during  his 
life  he  had  been  enabled  by  the  great  influence  he 
possessed  over  the  king  to  keep  his  belligerent 
tastes  in  check,  and  to  make  him  comprehend  and 
appreciate  the  perils  upon  which  he  was  so  eager  to 
rush. 

His  death,  however,  opened  the  floodgates  of  the 
king's  ambition,  or  rather  removed  the  dam  by  which 
it  had  been  hitherto  pent  in ;  and  Francis  found  in 
the  arguments  of  Bonnivet,  who  panted  for  revenge 
upon  Charles,  and  whose  romantic  imagination  found 
adequate  food  only  in  conquest  and  victory, — in  his 
mother,  who  was  anxious  for  the  aggrandizement  of 
her  son,  and  who  never  permitted  herself  to  dream 
of  failure, — and  in  the  entreaties  of  Madame  de 
Chateaubriand,  who  for  the  moment  coincided  in 
the  sentiments  of  Louise  de  Savoie,  because  she 
trusted  in  the  event  of  a  war  to  see  her  third  brother, 

VOL.  I  22 


338  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

Lespare,  acquire  high  miHtary  rank, — more  than  the 
incentives  which  he  required  to  recommence  a 
struggle  that  must  necessarily  involve  all  the  highest 
interests  of  his  kingdom. 

He  no  sooner  determined  upon  hostilities  toward 
his  victorious  rival  than  he  first  turned  his  thoughts 
to  England.  He  was  united  to  Henry  VHI.  by 
close  and  intimate  bonds.  The  British  monarch  had 
not  only  afifianced  his  daughter  to  the  dauphin,  but 
he  had  also  become  sponsor  to  the  younger  French 
prince ;  and  although  he  had  maintained  a  sullen 
neutrality  during  the  struggle  for  empire,  Francis 
either  felt  or  affected  to  feel  that  he  had  been  as 
much  injured  as  himself  by  the  result  of  the  election, 
and  consequently  spared  no  pains  to  inspire  him 
with  the  same  sentiments.  Moreover,  he  was  urged 
to  this  policy  by  a  desire  to  put  his  Belgian  frontiers 
into  an  efficient  state  of  defence,  and,  above  all,  to 
prevent  an  alliance  between  Henry  and  Charles, 
which  must  have  destroyed  the  balance  of  power  in 
Europe.  He  was  aware  that  the  noble  hostages 
whom  he  had  delivered  over  to  England  were  un- 
wearied in  their  endeavours  to  effect  a  still  closer 
alliance  between  himself  and  his  brother  monarch, 
and  that  they  were  constantly  assuring  Henry  that 
he  required  only  a  personal  knowledge  of  their  own 
sovereign  to  render  them  firm  allies  ;  and  he  lost  no 
time  in  strengthening  their  arguments  by  using 
every  means  in  his  power  to  secure  the  goodwill  of 
Wolsey,  whose  anxiety  to  attain  to  the  papacy  made 
him  on  his  side  desirous  of  gaining  the  friendship  of 


I5I9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  339 

such  of  the  continental  princes  as  were  the  most 
likely  to  forward  his  design. 

To  attain  this  end  Francis  lavished  upon  the 
English  minister  the  most  costly  gifts  and  the  most 
magnificent  promises,  all  of  which  were  received  in 
a  manner  which  served  to  strengthen  his  hopes,  and 
to  buoy  him  up  with  an  anticipation  of  ultimate 
success  ;  while  the  cardinal,  who  never  suffered 
himself  to  be  misled  by  present  advantages,  was 
calmly  weighing  in  his  mind  the  probable  results  of 
the  impending  struggle,  and  at  length  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  Emperor  of  Germany  must  ere 
long  command  more  influence  at  the  Court  of  Rome 
than  the  King  of  France.  Henry,  however,  it  is 
certain,  had  more  personal  sympathies  with  Francis 
than  with  his  rival.  They  were  of  the  same  age, 
were  addicted  to  the  same  pleasures,  and  swayed  by 
the  same  impulses  ;  and  thus,  unsuspicious  that  the 
gold  and  the  pledges  of  Charles  to  his  ambitious  and 
avaricious  minister  had  already  outweighed  those  of 
the  French  king,  he  was  induced  to  consent  to  the 
celebrated  interview  between  Francis  and  himself 
which  the  former  had  suggested  to  Sir  Thomas 
Boleyn  at  the  christening  of  his  son. 

Meanwhile  there  existed  many  causes  for  discon- 
tent between  the  emperor  and  the  King  of  France. 
Charles  had  failed  to  fulfil  his  engagement  relative 
to  the  kingdom  of  Navarre,  despite  the  pledge  which 
he  had  given  at  Noyon.  Both  the  king  and  queen, 
Jean  and  Catherine,  were  dead ;  while  their  son 
Henry  H.,  at  this  period  only  fifteen  years  of  age, 


340  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

was  the  ward  of  Alain  Albret,  his  uncle,  and  resided 
in  the  French  provinces,  the  only  territories  he  had 
inherited  from  his  father,  who  had  held  the  kingdom 
of  Navarre  by  right  of  his  wife,  and  who,  when  he 
demanded  the  restoration  of  the  Spanish  portion  of 
the  country,  was  opposed  by  the  minister  Chievres, 
who  negatived  the  claim  of  Germaine  de  Foix, 
declaring  that  she  had  made  a  donation  of  it  to 
Ferdinand,  the  grandfather  of  Charles.  This  ar- 
rangement had  for  a  time  been  admitted  by  France, 
but  on  the  second  marriage  of  the  dowager-queen 
the  parliament  of  Paris  had  declared  the  donation  to 
be  no  longer  valid,  and  had  admitted  the  right  of 
Henry  II.  to  the  succession.  Not  satisfied  with 
denying  this  claim,  the  emperor  had  at  the  same 
time  revived  all  the  old  discontents  of  his  ancestors 
against  the  predecessors  of  the  French  king ;  and 
while  he  contested  the  right  of  Francis  to  the 
Milanese,  he  also  insisted  on  the  restoration  of  the 
duchy  of  Burgundy,  which  he  declared  to  have  been 
unjustly  wrested  from  his  grandmother  Mary,  the 
daughter  of  Charles  the  Bold ;  while  in  reply  to 
these  demands  Francis  once  more  renewed  his  own  to 
the  kingdom  of  Naples,  which  Ferdinand  had  usurped 
from  Louis  XI  I. ,  and  reclaimed  the  homage  which 
was  due  to  him  from  Charles  as  Count  of  Flanders. 
Nevertheless,  bitter  as  the  contention  soon  be- 
came, the  young  emperor  shrank  from  the  responsi- 
bility which  must  be  entailed  upon  him  by  a  new 
and  doubtful  war.  Every  province  of  Spain  was  in 
partial  revolt,  the  Germans  were  full  of  discontent. 


1519-20  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  341 

and  he  had  been  so  long  absent  from  the  Low 
Countries  that  he  began  to  feel  his  influence  even 
there  on  the  decline ;  while  Francis,  although  he 
had  less  reason  for  uneasiness,  suffered  himself  so 
weakly  to  be  engrossed  by  pleasure  and  dissipation 
that  he  also  lost  the  favourable  moment  and  lavished 
the  immense  sums  which  were  extorted  from  the 
people  under  the  pretence  of  state  emergencies  in 
the  most  puerile  and  senseless  outlay. 

Thus  were  things  situated  when  preparations 
were  commenced  for  the  interview  between  Henry 
and  Francis  which  had  been  at  length  agreed  upon, 
and  they  were  of  so  costly  a  description  that  they 
were  not  terminated  until  the  spring  of  the  following 
year  (1520).  The  French  king,  who  was  more 
anxious  to  accomplish  a  lasting  alliance  with  his 
brother  monarch  than  to  enter  into  a  rivalry  of  mag- 
nificence, had,  as  it  would  appear  from  a  letter  still 
extant,  addressed  by  Sir  Richard  Wingfield  to 
Cardinal  Wolsey,  been  desirous  on  this  occasion  to 
dispense  with  all  save  the  necessary  ceremonial. 
Aware  that  his  oft-replenished  treasury  would  not 
do  more  than  suffice  for  the  war  which  he  meditated, 
he  even  controlled  his  natural  love  of  splendour  and 
display  so  far  as  to  suggest  to  the  English  courtier 
that  Henry  and  himself  should  meet  rather  as  fast 
friends  than  as  rival  sovereigns  ;  but  the  suggestion 
was  overruled  both  by  Henry  VHI.  and  his  minister, 
the  former  being  anxious  to  dazzle  Francis  by  his 
profusion,  and  the  latter  to  impress  him  with  a  sense 
of  his  own  importance. 


342  THE   COURT  .AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

Piqued  by  the  indifference  displayed  on  the  part 
of  the  English  monarch  to  an  outlay  from  which  he 
had  himself  shrunk,  Francis  accordingly  indulged  in 
the  most  lavish  expenditure  ;  while  in  emulation  of 
their  sovereign  all  the  nobles  of  his  Court,  im- 
poverished though  many  of  them  were  by  the  late 
struggle  at  Frankfort,  vied  with  each  other  in  an 
uncalculating  profusion  which  was  destined  to  cripple 
their  resources  for  many  subsequent  years.  "  The 
great  outlay  that  was  made,"  says  Du  Bellay, 
"  cannot  be  estimated,  but  many  carried  their  mills, 
their  forests,  and  their  meadows  upon  their  backs." 

The  details  of  the  ceremony  were  entirely 
regulated  by  Wolsey,  such  having  been  the  pro- 
position of  Francis,  who  hoped  by  this  display  of 
confidence  further  to  conciliate  the  haughty  min- 
ister ;  and  they  were  arranged  with  a  punctilious 
minuteness  which  savoured  more  of  suspicion  than 
of  that  friendship  and  goodwill  which  each  monarch 
professed  for  the  other.  It  was  decided  that  the 
meeting  should  take  place  on  the  boundary  of  the 
English  possessions  in  France,  in  requital  of  the 
courtesy,  or  rather  as  an  equivalent  for  the  con- 
descension of  Henry  in  having  crossed  the  channel 
to  effect  it ;  and  ultimately  an  open  plain  was 
selected  situate  between  Guisnes  and  Ardres.  But, 
before  the  two  sovereigns  met,  Charles,  anxious  to 
weaken  any  favourable  impression  which  might  be 
produced  on  the  mind  of  Henry  VHI.  by  a  per- 
sonal interview  with  the  French  king,  resolved, 
when  on   his   way  from   Spain   to   Aix-la-Chapelle, 


I5I9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  343 

where  he  was  to  be  invested  with  the  imperial 
crown,  to  visit  England,  under  the  pretext  of  a 
desire  to  present  his  respects  to  Katherine  of 
Aragon,  his  aunt,  whom  he  had  never  seen.  Henry- 
was  already  on  his  way  to  Dover  when  the  intel- 
ligence of  the  emperor's  arrival  reached  him,  and 
he  immediately  despatched  the  Cardinal -minister 
with  a  brilliant  retinue  to  give  him  welcome.  A 
dead  calm  which  had  delayed  the  arrival  of  Charles 
in  the  port  compelled  him  to  have  recourse  to  his 
boats,  and  it  was  only  towards  evening  that  he  was 
enabled  to  land,  when  he  was  met  by  the  reverend 
envoy,  who  greeted  him  in  the  name  of  his  royal 
master,  and  received  him  with  all  the  honour  due  to 
his  exalted  rank. 

The  disembarkation  was  conducted  with  extreme 
magnificence.  The  emperor  moved  forward  under 
a  canopy  on  which  the  black  eagle  was  displayed 
upon  a  ground  of  cloth  of  gold,  followed  by  a  train 
of  princes,  princesses,  and  nobles,  splendidly  attired; 
and  in  this  state  he  proceeded  to  the  castle,  where  a 
sumptuous  banquet  was  served,  amid  the  acclama- 
tions of  the  multitude  who  had  collected  to  witness 
the  landing. 

While  at  Canterbury  the  king  was  apprized  of 
the  fact  that  Charles  had  already  reached  Dover 
castle  ;  upon  which  he  again  mounted  in  all  haste, 
travelled  by  torchlight,  and  arrived  at  the  castle 
towards  midnight  with  his  train  of  attendants, 
creating  so  much  disturbance  as  to  awaken  the 
emperor,   who,  upon  being   informed   of  its    cause, 


344  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

immediately  left  his  bed  and,  flinging  his  mantle 
about  him,  hastened  to  meet  his  royal  host,  whom 
he  encountered  upon  the  stairs,  where,  says  the 
old  chronicler,  "  eche  embraced  other  right  lou- 
ingly,"  and  the  king  conducted  the  emperor  back 
to  his  apartment,  conversing  gaily  with  him,  and 
welcoming  him  heartily  to  England. 

On  the  Whitsunday  following  the  two  sovereigns 
rode  together  to  Canterbury,  where  they  were  re- 
ceived by  the  queen  at  the  head  of  her  Court, 
composed  of  all  that  was  fairest  and  noblest  in  the 
realm;  and  ultimately,  on  the  31st  of  May,  the 
imperial  visitor,  having  succeeded  in  ingratiating 
himself  with  Henry,  weakened  the  interest  felt  by 
the  English  monarch  for  Francis,  and  arranged  a 
future  meeting  in  which  their  several  interests  were 
to  be  discussed  and  united,  took  leave  of  the  king 
and  queen  with  the  most  emphatic  and  courteous 
expressions  of  gratitude  and  regard,  and,  profiting 
by  a  favourable  wind,  once  more  embarked  for 
Flanders. 

Charles  had,  moreover,  during  this  brief  sojourn 
in  England,  effected  more  than  even  Henry  was 
aware  of;  for,  conscious  that  the  English  monarch 
was  ruled  by  the  cardinal  in  all  matters  of  state 
policy,  he  had  lost  no  opportunity  of  impressing 
upon  him  the  great  admiration  which  he  felt  for  his 
talents,  and  his  desire  to  secure  the  friendship  of 
one  who  he  foresaw  would  ere  long  fill  the  most 
sacred  throne  in  Europe  ;  while  these  honied  words 
were  accompanied  by  promises  so  unreserved,  and 


1519-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  345 

by  presents  so  magnificent,  that  the  vanity  and 
cupidity  of  the  minister  soon  rendered  him  as 
anxious  to  serve  the  interests  of  the  emperor  as  he 
had  previously  declared  himself  desirous  to  further 
those  of  Francis.  His  insatiable  ambition,  which 
ever  pointed  to  the  triple  crown,  blinded  him  to  his 
bad  faith ;  and  while  Charles  expatiated  on  his 
determination  to  second  his  views  by  every  means 
within  his  power, — a  promise  which  he  made  the 
more  readily  from  the  fact  that  Leo  X.  being  still 
in  the  prime  of  life  it  was  improbable  that  he 
should  for  many  years  be  called  upon  to  redeem 
his  pledge, — Wolsey,  as  he  listened,  became  a  con- 
vert to  all  his  views,  and  readily  undertook  to 
negative  the  attempts  of  the  French  king  to  secure 
an  alliance  with  his  master. 

The  intelligence  of  this  extraordinary  and  un- 
looked-for visit  excited  the  apprehensions  of  Francis, 
who  had  already  become  aware  that  Charles  made 
no  important  movement  without  a  corresponding 
motive  ;  and  he  accordingly  hastened  to  complete 
his  preparations,  in  order  to  counteract  as  speedily 
as  possible  the  evil  influence  which  had  been 
exerted  against  him. 

In  preparation  for  the  meeting  the  French  king 
had  caused  three  buildings  to  be  erected,  two  of 
which  were  of  solid  materials,  and  within  the  walls 
of  the  town.  The  first  was  appropriated  to  the 
queen  and  the  ladies  of  her  suite,  and  the  other 
to  the  state  banquets  which  were  to  be  given  to 
Henry  and  his  Court ;    while  a  third,   without  the 


346  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

walls,  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  Roman  coliseum, 
the  chambers,  saloons,  and  galleries  being  of  wood 
on  a  foundation  of  stone,  and  the  whole  covered 
in  with  cloth.  Moreover,  as  the  two  monarchs  had 
agreed  to  meet  in  the  plain,  Francis  also  prepared 
tents  and  pavilions  of  the  most  magnificent  descrip- 
tion. The  more  costly  of  these  were  hung  with 
cloth  of  gold,  draped  within  and  without  in  every 
compartment,  and  others  were  of  plain  cloth  of  gold, 
or  cloth  of  gold  and  silver  interwoven.  They  were 
all  surmounted,  moreover,  by  devices  or  globes  of 
the  same  precious  materials,  save  that  of  the  king 
himself,  over  which,  in  order  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  rest,  was  placed  a  figure  of  St.  Michael  of 
beaten  gold  ;  "  but,"  says  Fleuranges,  with  his 
2LQ,QXi&X.ovs\^di persiflage,  "it  was  hollow." 

All  this  magnificence  was,  however,  even  upon 
the  testimony  of  the  French  courtier  himself, 
eclipsed  by  the  solitary,  and,  in  so  far  as  externals 
went,  inferior  edifice  prepared  for  Henry,  and 
which  was  erected  at  the  gates  of  Guisnes,  near 
the  castle.  It  was  an  immense  square  building, 
composed  simply  of  wood,  canvas,  and  glass  ;  but 
the  latter  was  used  with  such  profusion  that  one 
portion  of  the  colossal  pile  resembled  a  gigantic 
lantern,  a  luxury  which  at  that  period  created  great 
astonishment.  The  whole  structure  formed  a  quad- 
rangle of  princely  proportions,  enclosing  a  court, 
in  the  centre  of  which,  and  facing  the  principal 
entrance,  were  two  fine  fountains,  each  of  which 
had   three  jets,   playing  hypocras,  water,  and  wine 


1519-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  347 

into  spacious  basins.  The  chapel,  which  was  of 
imposing  size,  and  richly  hung  with  tapestry,  was 
adorned  with  the  most  costly  plate  and  the  most 
valuable  relics  ;  while  the  cellars  and  butteries  were 
worthy  of  the  building  to  which  they  appertained, 
both  kings  welcoming  all  comers,  and  vying  with 
each  other  in  an  hospitality  that  was  boundless. 

What  most  excited  the  admiration  of  the  French 
was,  however,  the  fact  that  this  enormous  edifice 
had  been  constructed  entirely  in  England,  and 
brought  over  piecemeal ;  and  that,  while  from  the 
circumstance  of  its  being  entirely  covered  with 
canvas  painted  to  resemble  stonework,  and  lined 
throughout  with  tapestry,  it  had  an  appearance  of 
solidity  which  would  have  deceived  the  eye  into  a 
belief  that  it  was  intended  to  endure  for  centuries, 
the  two  kings  had  no  sooner  parted  than  it  was 
once  more  disjointed,  re -embarked,  and  conveyed 
back  to  England,  "without  any  cost,"  as  Du  Bellay 
expresses  it,  "save  that  of  the  carriage." 

The  arrangements  made  for  the  two  queens  and 
their  respective  suites  were  gorgeous  in  the  ex- 
treme ;  pearls  and  jewels  were  lavished  not  only 
upon  the  canopies  above  their  chairs  of  state,  but 
also  upon  the  very  footcloths  by  which  they  were 
approached ;  while  their  garments  were  of  piled 
velvet,  or  cloth  of  gold  and  silver,  embroidered 
with  gems  and  coloured  silks  in  large  masses,  or 
Lyons  damasks,  studded  with  silver  stars,  or  tra- 
versed by  broad  bars  of  gold.  Nor  were  the  fair 
and  noble  ladies  by  whom  they  were  attended  much 


348  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

less  magnificently  attired  than  themselves ;  although, 
as  a  contemporary  chronicler  declares,  the  "  English 
dames  wore  the  richest  and  the  costliest  habits,  but 
the  French  ones  arranged  theirs  with  more  taste 
and  elegance,  so  that  their  visitors  soon  began  to 
adopt  the  mode  of  the  country,  by  which  they  lost 
in  modesty  what  they  gained  in  comeliness." 

It  is  to  be  supposed  that  the  ladies  of  Claude's 
rigid  circle  were  not  among  those  against  whom  this 
reproach  was  registered. 

At  length  the  important  day  of  meeting  was 
decided  on,  and  the  ceremonial  savoured  at  once  of 
the  suspicion  and  arrogance  of  the  cardinal-minister, 
who,  amid  the  pompous  display  which  he  had  induced 
Henry  to  make,  had  been  even  more  mindful  of  his 
own  dignity  than  that  of  his  master ;  his  train  of 
bishops,  priests,  deacons,  pages,  and  men-at-arms 
being  rather  that  of  a  sovereign-prince  than  of  any 
subject,  however  elevated  his  rank. 

It  was  arranged  that  the  king  of  England  should 
advance  half  a  mile  beyond  the  Castle  of  Guisnes, 
towards  Ardres,  but  still  within  his  own  territories, 
where  he  should  halt  in  the  open  plain ;  and  that  the 
French  monarch  should  progress  precisely  the  same 
distance  from  Ardres  towards  the  same  spot,  at  the 
same  day  and  hour,  which  would  bring  him  within 
the  limits  of  Henry's  domain  of  Guisnes.  "  In  the 
whiche,"  proceeds  Hall,  generally  so  punctiliously 
correct  in  his  details,  "there  shall  not  bee  set  nor 
dressed  any  pauillions  or  tentes,  and  there  the  said 
twoo  kinges  beyinge  on  horsebacke,  with  their  re- 


I5I9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  349 

tinue,  shall  se  the  one  thother,  and  salute  eche  other, 
and  speake  together  familiarly  and  common  in  that 
sort  and  maner,  and  so  long  as  shall  seme  to  them 
good." 

Herein,  however,  he  has  committed  an  error,  as 
both  Du  Bellay  and  Fleuranges  assert  that  a  pavilion 
had  been  expressly  erected  for  the  interview,  into 
which  the  two  sovereigns  were  to  adjourn  after  they 
had  exchanged  compliments  and  congratulations. 

Warning  guns  having  been  fired  from  both  Ardres 
and  Guisnes,  the  rival  processions  set  forward  at  the 
same  instant ;  Francis  mounted  upon  a  splendid 
horse,  whose  housings  flashed  in  the  sunlight  like 
living  fire,  so  thickly  were  they  studded  with  precious 
stones  and  gold,  and  followed  by  all  the  chivalry  of 
France.  The  suspicious  jealousy  of  Wolsey  had 
determined  him,  however,  to  regulate  the  number  of 
attendants  by  whom  the  two  sovereigns  were  to  be 
severally  accompanied  to  the  tent  of  audience ;  and 
he  decided  upon  two  on  either  side,  while  he  himself, 
as  minister  of  England,  and  Robertet  as  that  of 
France,  should  await  them  at  the  entrance.  The 
nobles  selected  by  Francis  to  be  present  at  the  inter- 
view were  the  Connetable  de  Bourbon  and  the 
Chancellor  Duprat,  while  Henry  conferred  the  same 
honour  upon  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk. 

Francis  arrived  first  upon  the  field,  but  in  a  few 
instants  the  English  king  appeared  at  about  the  dis- 
tance of  an  arrow's  flight,  riding  a  Spanish  charger 
of  great  strength  and  beauty,  and  magnificently 
caparisoned.      Here    the    English    party    suddenly 


350  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

paused,  Lord  Abergavenny  assuring  the  king  that 
the  number  of  the  French  exceeded  that  of  his  own 
followers,  as  he  had  ascertained  from  having  already- 
been  among  them ;  when  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury, 
angered  at  so  puerile  a  terror,  hastened  in  his  turn 
to  put  an  end  to  a  delay  which,  if  not  absolutely 
suspicious,  was  at  least  discourteous,  by  declaring 
that  he  also  had  paid  a  visit  to  the  rival  camp. 
"  And,  sir,"  he  said  firmly,  "  the  Frenchmen  are 
more  in  fear  of  your  grace  and  of  your  subjects  than 
your  subjects  are  of  them  ;  wherefore,  if  I  might 
venture  to  offer  my  opinion,  I  would  counsel  your 
highness  to  proceed." 

"  So  we  intend,  my  lord,"  was  the  instant  reply  of 
Henry ;  whereupon  the  officers-at-arms  gave  the 
word  :  "  On,  afore ! "  and  once  more  the  glittering 
cavalcade  was  in  motion  towards  the  bank  of  the 
Adern,  where  every  noble  and  gentleman  fell  into 
his  proper  place,  and  the  whole  party  halted  with 
their  faces  towards  the  valley. 

The  Due  de  Bourbon,  as  Connetable  of  France, 
bore  his  drawn  sword  in  front  of  his  sovereign,  which 
Henry  VHI.  no  sooner  remarked  than  he  desired 
the  Marquis  of  Dorset,  who  carried  his  own  sword 
of  state,  to  unsheathe  it  in  like  manner ;  and  this 
done,  the  monarchs  rode  into  the  valley,  where  they 
at  length  met  face  to  face  at  the  head  of  two  of  the 
most  brilliant  assemblages  of  nobility  which  had  ever 
been  seen  in  Europe.  For  a  brief  instant  both 
paused,  as  they  surveyed  each  other  with  astonish- 
ment and  admiration ;  for  they  were  at  that  period, 


21  IS  M  m  12"     VML 


EHGRAVED  HVPERIOSSION  FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  PICTORE    IN  THE    COURT     ROOM 
AT  STBARXHOLOMEWS    HOSPITAL. 


ISI9-20  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  351 

beyond  all  parallel,  the  two  most  comely  princes  in 
Christendom.  Francis  was  the  taller  and  the  more 
slender  of  the  two,  and  was  attired  in  a  vest  of  cloth 
of  silver  damasked  with  gold,  and  edged  with  a  bor- 
der of  embossed  work  in  party-coloured  silks.  Over 
this  he  wore  a  cloak  of  brocaded  satin,  with  a  scarf 
of  gold  and  purple  crossing  over  one  shoulder,  and 
buttoned  to  the  waist,  richly  set  with  pearls  and  pre- 
cious stones ;  while  his  long  hair  escaped  from 
beneath  a  coif  of  damasked  gold  set  with  diamonds, 
and  gave  him  a  noble  and  graceful  appearance, 
which  his  splendid  horsemanship  and  handsome 
although  strongly  defined  features,  his  bushy  whis- 
kers, and  ample  moustache,  tended  to  enhance. 
Henry,  on  his  side,  wore  a  vest  of  crimson  velvet 
slashed  with  white  satin,  and  buttoned  down  the 
chest  with  studs  composed  of  large  and  precious 
jewels  ;  and  his  round  velvet  toque  or  hat  was  sur- 
mounted by  a  profuse  plume  which  floated  on  the 
wind,  save  where  it  was  confined  by  a  star  of  bril- 
liants. His  figure,  although  more  bulky  than  that 
of  his  brother  monarch,  was  still  well-proportioned  ; 
his  movements  were  elastic  and  unembarrassed,  and 
his  face  was  attractive  from  the  frankness  of  its  ex- 
pression, the  singular  brightness  of  his  eyes,  and  the 
luxuriance  of  his  hair  and  beard,  which  he  wore  in  a 
dense  fringe  beneath  his  chin,  and  which  was  at  that 
period  less  red  than  golden. 

The  mutual  scrutiny  of  the  two  young  sovereigns 
lasted  only  a  moment ;  in  the  next  they  were  in  each 
other's  arms,  each  straining  from  the  saddle  to  em- 


352  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

brace  his  brother  monarch.  The  horse  of  Henry- 
swerved  for  an  instant,  impatient  of  the  impediment, 
but  the  hand  of  Francis  firmly  grasped  the  rein 
which  its  rider  had  suffered  to  escape  him  ;  and  after 
a  renewed  exchange  of  courtesies  the  attendant 
equerries  were  summoned  to  hold  the  stirrups  of 
their  royal  masters  as  they  alighted.  On  gaining 
their  feet  the  two  kings  exchanged  another  embrace  ; 
and  then,  arm-in-arm,  they  proceeded  to  the  pavilion 
of  audience,  followed  each  by  his  selected  witnesses. 
On  their  entrance  the  Lord-Cardinal  of  York  was 
presented  to  Francis,  and  M.  de  Robertet  to  the 
English  king,  during  which  time  the  whole  of  the 
respective  guards  and  retinues  halted  at  the  entrance 
of  the  camp,  about  a  stone's  throw  from  the  pavilion  ; 
comprising,  besides  the  train  of  nobles  on  either  side, 
four  hundred  body-guards  in  state  uniforms.  Nor 
had  they  cause  of  weariness  as  they  awaited  the 
royal  leisure,  for  as  they  reined  up  their  horses 
beside  the  barrier  the  whole  magnificence  of  the 
camp  burst  upon  them,  with  its  frail  but  costly  tene- 
ments gleaming  in  the  sun  like  some  fairy  creation, 
and  winning  by  its  gorgeousness  the  admiration  of 
the  spectators,  and  the  enduring  appellation  of  The 
Field  of  Cloth  of  Gold. 

A  splendid  banquet  had  been  prepared  for  the 
princely  guests ;  and  as  they  pledged  each  other  in 
the  generous  wine  of  the  country,  Francis,  grasping 
the  hand  of  his  royal  companion,  said  courteously 
and  emphatically — ''  Thus  far,  with  some  fatigue, 
my   dear   brother  and   cousin,   have    I    travelled  in 


ISI9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  353 

order  to  enjoy  a  personal  interview  with  you  ;  and  I 
think  that  you  will  put  faith  in  my  sincerity  when  I 
say  that  I  believe  you  esteem  me  on  your  side,  and 
feel  convinced  of  my  readiness  as  well  as  ability  to 
aid  you  should  need  be  ;  which  my  kingdom  and  my 
principalities  will  alike  enable  me  to  do." 

"  Sir,"  replied  Henry  with  equal  suavity  and 
emphasis,  "  I  regard  not  either  your  realm  or  its 
dependencies,  but  rather  the  steadfast  and  loyal  ob- 
servance of  the  treaties  into  which  we  have  con- 
jointly entered ;  and  should  you  strictly  observe 
these,  then  do  I  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  my  eyes 
have  never  looked  upon  a  prince  whom  my  heart 
could  better  love ;  and  glad  I  am  that  in  order  to 
secure  your  affection  I  was  induced  not  only  to  cross 
the  seas  but  also  to  ride  to  the  farthermost  boundary 
of  my  kingdom  in  order  to  meet  you  here." 

These  courteous  speeches  exchanged,  and  the 
banquet  removed,  the  articles  of  the  proposed  treaty 
were  laid  before  the  sovereigns  by  their  respective 
ministers ;  upon  which  the  English  king  drew  the 
papers  towards  him,  and  began  by  reading  aloud 
those  containing  the  propositions  of  Francis ;  and 
these  concluded  he  opened  his  own,  and  was  com- 
mencing, "  I,  Henry,  King  of "     The  document 

ran,  "  King  of  France  and  England,"  but  he  at  once 
felt  the  futility  and  impropriety  of  such  an  assump- 
tion on  the  present  occasion,  and  suddenly  pausing, 
he  looked  with  a  smile  towards  his  royal  auditor  and 
said  gaily,  "  I  shall  not  insert  all  that  I  see  here,  for 
as  you  are  present,  I  should  lie."  After  which  he 
VOL.  I  23 


354  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

resumed  his  task,  saying  steadily,  "I,  Henry,  King 
of  England  " — and  then  continued  without  further 
interruption  to  the  close  of  the  document. 

"  And  well  drawn-up  and  written  were  those 
articles,"  says  Fleuranges,  ^^  had  they  only  been  ob- 
served.'' 

This  important  labour  accomplished,  the  two 
sovereigns  decided  upon  the  spot  where  the  lists 
and  scaffoldings  should  be  erected  for  a  tournament, 
being  alike  resolved  to  spend  the  time  which  they 
should  pass  together  in  pleasure  and  amusement  ; 
leaving  their  respective  councillors  to  negotiate  all 
public  business,  and  to  report  to  them  each  evening 
the  progress  they  had  made  towards  a  mutual  accept- 
ance of  the  terms  of  the  treaty.  This  being  finally 
agreed,  they  parted  with  mutual  expressions  of  affec- 
tion and  regard ;  and  while  Francis  returned  to 
Ardres,  Henry  rode  back  into  the  town  of  Guisnes, 
where  he  passed  the  night,  reserving  the  monster 
building  we  have  described  for  the  exigencies  of  the 
day. 

At  the  fall  of  evening  Cardinal  Wolsey,  accom- 
panied by  one  of  the  English  members  of  council, 
waited  upon  the  French  king  by  desire  of  his  master, 
to  arrange  measures  by  which  they  might  frequently 
meet  without  distrust  or  apprehension  on  either  side  ; 
and  it  was  finally  settled  that  the  kings  should  fete 
the  queens,  and  the  queens  the  kings ;  and  thus 
when  Henry  should  arrive  at  Ardres  to  visit  the 
Queen  of  France,  Francis,  previously  apprized  of 
his  intention,  should  at  the  same  moment  set  forth 


1519-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  355 

for  Guisnes  to  share  the  hospitaHty  of  the  Queen  of 
England ;  by  which  means  each  would  become  hos- 
tage for  the  other. 

All  that  was  requisite  when  this  irksome  and 
ungracious  matter  had  been  decided  on  was  to  pre- 
pare for  the  tourney,  which  had  been  appointed  for 
the  following  morning.  A  large  space  was  accord- 
ingly enclosed  by  rails  and  ditches,  beside  which 
platforms  were  erected  for  the  spectators ;  and  at 
one  end  a  lofty  mound  was  raised,  upon  which  a 
hawthorn  tree  and  a  raspberry  bush,  intended  to  re- 
present the  devices  of  the  two  kings,  were  conspicu- 
ously displayed.  On  the  right  side  of  the  lists  a 
velvet  canopy  was  erected,  under  which  the  queens 
were  seated  with  a  numerous  train  of  ladies,  all 
richly  attired,  and  awaiting  with  impatience  the 
commencement  of  the  sports.  At  the  principal 
entrance  of  the  enclosure  were  two  lodges,  appro- 
priated to  the  knights  who  guarded  the  barrier  ;  and 
beside  these  were  two  spacious  cellars,  which  were 
amply  provided  with  wine  for  the  refreshment  of  all 
comers. 

As  the  sovereigns  entered  the  arena  their  re- 
spective shields  were  attached  to  the  symbolic  trees 
upon  the  mount ;  and  the  young  monarchs,  at  the 
head  of  their  noble  followers,  then  engaged  in  the 
warlike  pastime,  and  encountered  all  combatants 
who  presented  themselves  ;  when  many  a  rude 
combat  took  place,  as  was  to  be  expected  where  the 
flower  of  the  youth  and  chivalry  of  the  two  first 
nations    in    Europe   met  to  sustain  the  honour  of 


3S6  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

their  several  countries.  These  sports  continued  for 
twelve  or  fifteen  days,  and  were  diversified  by  balls, 
banquets,  and  other  festivities  in  which  the  sister- 
queens  and  their  ladies  could  bear  a  part ;  but  long 
before  their  cessation  Francis,  whose  open  and 
generous  spirit  was  vexed  by  the  suspicious  and 
unnecessary  restraints  which  had  been  put  upon  a 
free  and  unconstrained  intercourse  between  the  two 
Courts,  rose  one  morning  at  an  unusually  early  hour, 
and,  accompanied  only  by  two  gentlemen  and  a  page, 
mounted  an  ungroomed  horse,  and  with  no  other 
preparation  than  that  of  throwing  a  Spanish  cloak 
across  his  shoulders,  galloped  over  to  the  castle  of 
Ardres  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  English  king. 

When  he  reached  the  drawbridge  the  guards, 
astonished  by  such  an  apparition,  were  at  a  loss 
how  to  act ;  and  the  governor  of  the  citadel  who 
was  stationed  at  the  spot  with  two  hundred  archers 
was  even  more  amazed  than  his  men.  As  the  young 
monarch  passed  among  them  he  laughingly  com- 
manded them  to  surrender,  declaring  that  he  in- 
tended to  make  all  the  garrison  prisoners  ;  after 
which  he  desired  to  be  shown  to  the  chamber  of 
Henry,  and  despite  the  remonstrance  of  the  bewil- 
dered governor,  who  ventured  to  suggest  that  his 
royal  master  still  slept,  he  knocked  loudly  at  the 
door,  awoke  his  brother  potentate,  and  entered. 
The  English  monarch  was  as  much  amazed  as  his 
men-at-arms  by  this  bold  proceeding ;  but  meeting 
his  visitor  in  the  same  spirit  he  raised  himself  in  his 
bed  and  said  joyously,   "  Brother,  you  have  played 


1519-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  357 

me  the  cleverest  trick  that  one  man  could  do  to 
another,  and  have  shown  me  the  whole  extent  of 
the  confidence  which  I  ought  to  place  in  you ;  as 
for  myself,  I  surrender  at  discretion,  and  am  your 
prisoner  from  this  moment." 

As  he  spoke  he  unclasped  a  collar  from  his  neck 
valued  at  fifteen  thousand  angels,  and  placed  it  in 
the  hand  of  Francis,  praying  him  to  accept  and 
wear  it  for  the  love  of  his  captive ;  whereupon 
Francis,  who  had  already  designed  to  offer  a  pledge 
of  friendship  to  his  new  ally  at  this  their  first  uncon- 
strained meeting,  unclasped  from  his  wrist  a  bracelet 
of  twice  the  same  amount,  and  besought  him  to 
receive  it  as  a  token  of  the  love  he  bore  him.  The 
exchange  was  frankly  made ;  and  while  Henry  fast- 
ened the  costly  manacle  upon  his  arm  his  visitor 
adjusted  the  collar  about  his  neck ;  after  which, 
amid  laughter  and  jests,  the  English  king  sprang 
from  his  bed,  and  was  assisted  at  his  toilette  by  his 
unbidden  but  welcome  guest,  who  declared  that  for 
that  day  at  least  he  should  have  no  other  attendant  ; 
and  when  with  infinite  merriment  the  one  had  ten- 
dered, and  the  other  had  accepted,  his  services, 
Francis  took  leave  in  order  to  return  to  Ardres, 
despite  the  entreaties  of  Henry,  who  would  have 
detained  him  in  order  to  prepare  for  the  joust  of  the 
afternoon. 

On  his  way  back  to  his  own  camp  Francis  en- 
countered a  number  of  his  nobles  who  had  come  to 
meet  him,  alarmed  for  his  safety ;  and  among  the 
foremost  was  Fleuranges,  who  reproached  him  bit- 


3S8  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

terly  for  the  unnecessary  peril  in  which  he  had  placed 
himself;  but  the  young  king  only  jested  at  their 
uneasiness,  declaring  that  henceforward  the  two 
nations  would  be  better  friends  than  ever,  and  them- 
selves enabled  to  enjoy  with  a  higher  zest  the  plea- 
sures by  which  they  were  surrounded ;  a  prediction 
whose  correctness  was  confirmed  on  the  following 
morning,  when  Henry  returned  the  visit  of  his 
brother  monarch  in  the  same  manner  in  which  it 
had  been  made ;  and  after  a  new  interchange  of 
presents  and  professions,  rode  home  in  his  turn  to 
Guisnes  without  guard  or  weapon. 

Meanwhile  the  two  queens  profited  even  more 
greatly  than  their  royal  consorts  by  this  well-con- 
ceived confidence ;  for,  although  they  had  felt  a 
mutual  esteem  from  the  first  moment  in  which  they 
met,  their  intercourse  had  hitherto  been  constrained 
and  ceremonious ;  whereas  after  this  exchange  of 
visits  they  found  themselves  at  once  released  from 
the  trammels  of  etiquette  and  caution,  and  were 
enabled  to  cultivate  each  other's  society  without 
impediment.  The  gratification  was  great  on  both 
sides,  for  each  was  well  able  to  appreciate  the  other. 
It  is  true  that  at  this  period  the  unfortunate  Kathe- 
rine  of  Aragon  was  still  happy  in  the  love  of  her 
husband,  while  Claude  was  already  a  neglected  wife  ; 
but  the  gentle  melancholy  of  the  English  queen, — a 
melancholy  which  almost  seemed  a  foretaste  of  the 
future, — harmonised  well  with  the  heart-stricken 
sadness  of  her  new  friend.  The  one  was  already 
sated  with  gaud  and  glitter,  and  the  other  had  never 


I5I9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  359 

loved  them.  The  happiest  hours  which  they  passed 
together  were  consequently  those  when  they  could 
converse  freely  and  confidentially.  Both  were 
mothers,  and  both  also  had  lost  some  of  the  fair" 
children  whom  they  had  borne,  in  their  first  infancy; 
thus  they  never  needed  a  subject  of  sympathy  and 
interest,  but  as  they  mutually  mingled  their  tears 
and  communicated  their  sorrows, — those  sorrows  of 
the  heart  which  torture  alike  the  lofty  head  that 
wears  a  royal  diadem  and  the  lowly  brow  that  is 
shaded  by  a  linen  coif, — their  esteem  grew  into 
friendship,  and  they  anticipated  with  regret  the 
hour  of  their  separation. 

Nor  did  the  nobles  and  ladies  of  the  two  Courts 
fail  to  profit  by  the  cordiality  which  existed  between 
their  respective  monarchs.  All  distrust  had  vanished, 
and  they  mingled  freely  with  each  other,  frequently 
even  passing  the  night  in  the  rival  city,  and  careless 
in  what  number  or  in  what  guise  they  came  and 
went. 

To  the  tournament  succeeded  wrestling  matches, 
in  which  the  English  proved  the  victors ;  and  to 
these  again  archery,  at  which  noble  pastime  Henry 
VIII.  himself  distanced  all  competitors,  and  as- 
tonished those  who  witnessed  his  feats,  both  by  his 
strength  and  skill.  At  the  close  of  the  day's  sport 
the  two  kings  retired  to  their  pavilion,  where,  after 
they  had  pledged  each  other,  Henry,  elated  by  his 
success,  suddenly  seized  Francis  by  the  collar,  ex- 
claiming, "  Come,  brother,  I  must  have  a  fall  with 
you,"  when  the  King  of  France,  who  was  an  able 


36o  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xiv 

wrestler,  after  a  short  struggle  threw  him  with  great 
force.  On  regaining  his  legs  Henry  would  fain 
have  renewed  the  attack,  but  some  of  the  nobles  of 
both  countries,  who  were  more  prudent  than  their 
masters,  dissuaded  him  from  the  attempt ;  and,  still 
with  undiminished  cordiality,  the  two  monarchs  sat 
down  together  at  the  supper-table. 

Nothing  appears,  indeed,  more  creditable  to  both 
parties  than  the  perfect  order,  courtesy,  and  good 
temper  exhibited  on  either  side  throughout  the 
whole  of  the  exciting  sports  in  which  they  were 
engaged.  No  single  misunderstanding  marred  the 
harmony  of  the  two  Courts  ;  while  this  perfect  good- 
feeling  extended  even  to  the  men-at-arms,  who  vied 
with  their  leaders  in  acts  of  reciprocal  cordiality  and 
kindness. 

During  the  tournament  the  King  of  England 
gave  a  grand  banquet  to  Francis  and  his  Court  in 
the  temporary  palace  without  the  gates  of  Guisnes, 
where  no  magnificence  was  spared  to  do  honour  to 
his  royal  and  noble  guests.  The  two  kings  were 
seated  side  by  side  in  the  centre  of  the  upper  table, 
while  their  queens  occupied  the  space  immediately 
in  front  of  them  ;  the  English  cardinal  having  a 
stool  on  the  right  hand  of  Francis,  and  the  Conn6- 
table  de  Bourbon  a  similar  place  of  honour  on  the 
left  of  the  English  king.  On  the  following  day 
Francis  played  the  host.  He  had  caused  to  be 
erected  for  the  occasion,  also  without  the  walls  of 
Guisnes,  a  splendid  pavilion  fifty  feet  square,  covered 
and  draped  with  cloth  of  gold,  and  lined  with  blue 


I5I9-20  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  361 

velvet,  studded  with  fleurs-de-lis  embroidered  in 
Cyprus  gold,  having  four  smaller  pavilions  at  the 
angles  similarly  adorned ;  the  whole  supported  by 
ropes  of  gold  Cyprus  thread  and  blue  silk.  But  this 
costly  erection  was  not  fated  to  answer  the  purpose 
for  which  it  had  been  intended,  a  sudden  storm  of 
wind  having  arisen  which  wrenched  away  the  tent- 
pins,  broke  the  cords,  and  overthrew  the  whole 
fabric.  Orders  were  instantly  issued  to  prepare 
another  banquet  hall  with  all  speed  in  one  of  the 
faubourgs  of  the  town  ;  and  this  was  accomplished 
to  the  great  delight  of  the  citizens,  who  forthwith 
christened  it  the  Faubourg  of  the  Festival,  a  name 
which  it  still  bears. 

At  the  close  of  these  banquets,  Wolsey,  desirous 
in  his  turn  to  display  his  magnificence,  performed  a 
high  and  solemn  mass  in  a  sumptuous  chapel  which 
he  had  caused  to  be  constructed  during  the  previous 
night,  and  which  was  so  richly  covered,  both  within 
and  without,  by  tapestry,  that  the  material  of  which 
it  was  built  could  not  be  distinguished.  The  altar 
blazed  with  light  and  gems ;  the  choristers  of  both 
Courts  assisted  in  the  ceremony  ;  while  the  haughty 
prelate  himself  stood  upon  the  steps  of  the  shrine, 
clad  in  his  pontifical  robes,  and  surrounded  by  a 
crowd  of  bishops,  priests,  and  lay  attendants.  On 
the  right  of  the  altar  knelt  the  two  monarchs,  having 
behind  them  the  great  nobles  of  their  respective 
nations,  promiscuously  grouped  together  ;  and  on 
the  left  their  royal  consorts,  attended  by  the  prin- 
cipal ladies  of  their  several  suites.     When  he  had 


362  ^'  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I     chap,  xiv 

himself  communicated,  Wolsey,  followed  by  a  train 
of  mitred  bishops,  bore  the  Eucharist  with  great 
solemnity  to  the  prostrate  sovereigns ;  after  which 
he  advanced  towards  the  sister- queens,  who,  before 
they  received  it,  embraced  each  other  with  tears. 
To  them  it  was  at  once  a  holy  and  a  parting  pledge  ; 
and  surely  there  was  no  irreverence  in  the  intrusion 
of  a  feeling  so  pure  and  sinless  even  at  such  a 
moment. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  mass  the  treaty  was 
confirmed,  and  peace  between  England  and  France 
proclaimed  by  the  heralds  of  both  nations.  The 
betrothal  of  the  dauphin  with  the  Princess  Mary, 
the  daughter  of  Henry,  was  duly  solemnized  ; 
several  more  days  were  spent  in  jousts  and  ban- 
quets ;  and,  finally,  on  the  24th  of  June,  the  two 
kings  parted  as  publicly  and  formally  as  they  had 
met ;  and  while  the  English  monarch  advanced  to 
Guisnes,  in  order  to  proceed  to  Calais  and  Grave- 
lines,  where  he  had  appointed  to  meet  the  emperor 
after  his  interview  with  Francis,  that  sovereign 
returned  to  France,  with  the  full  but  erroneous 
conviction  that  thenceforward  Henry  of  England 
was  his  firm  ally  for  life. 


CHAPTER   XV 

1520-21 

The  differences  between  England  and  Scotland  submitted  to  the  arbitration 
of  Wolsey  and  Louise  de  Savoie — Wolsey  is  brought  over  to  the  cause  of 
the  emperor — Charles  V.  and  Henry  VIII.  meet  at  Gravelines — Charles 
proceeds  to  Aix-la-Chapelle  for  his  coronation — Narrow  escape  of  the 
French  king — Charles  convokes  a  diet  at  Worms — Luther  defends  his 
doctrines — Is  outlawed — And  protected  by  the  Elector  of  Saxony — 
Francis  is  reluctant  to  commence  the  war — Ingratitude  of  Charles  V.  to 
Robert  de  la  Mark — La  Mark  returns  to  his  allegiance,  and  defies  the 
emperor — Policy  of  the  Pope — The  Spaniards  revolt — Arrogance  of 
Charles  V. — The  Navarrese  solicit  Henri  D'Albret  to  claim  his  crown — 
Francis  supplies  him  with  troops — Defence  of  the  citadel  of  Pampeluna 
— Ignatius  Loyola — Surrender  of  Pampeluna  to  the  French — Imprudence 
of  the  French  general — He  enters  Spain — The  Castilians  rise  against 
him — Lespare  is  defeated  and  made  prisoner — The  emperor  marches  an 
army  against  the  Due  de  Gueldres — The  rival  sovereigns  appeal  to 
Henry  VIII. — The  Due  de  Gueldres  sues  for  a  truce — Francis  fortifies 
his  frontiers — Duplicity  of  the  emperor — The  Comte  de  Nassau  takes 
Menzon — A  conference  opened  at  Calais — The  Pope  and  Wolsey  meet 
at  Bruges — Bad  faith  of  Leo  X. — Indignation  of  Francis  against  the 
English  king — His  self-reliance  —  Bayard  defends  Mezieres  —  Francis 
encounters  the  enemy  near  Valenciennes,  but  suffers  them  to  escape — 
The  Comte  de  Nassau  summons  Bayard  to  surrender — Spirited  reply  of 
the  good  knight — A  ruse  de  guerre — The  imperialists  raise  the  siege — 
The  bottle  of  wine — -The  recompense  of  Bayard — Gratitude  of  the 
citizens  of  Mezieres  to  the  good  knight— Francis  marches  upon  Picardy — 
Charles  joins  his  army  at  Valenciennes — Francis  confers  the  command  of 
the  vanguard  upon  the  Due  d'Alenjon — Indignation  of  Bourbon — 
Francis  returns  to  France,  and  disbands  his  army. 

No  public  business  of  importance  had  after  all 
been  transacted  between  the  two  sovereigns  at  the 
gorgeous  meeting  of  the  Golden  Camp,  for  the 
preliminaries  of  the  negotiation  which  was  signed 
at  Ardres  on  the  6th  of  June  in  the  previous  year 


364  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

had  already  been  arranged  between  the  ministers 
on  either  side ;  and  it  was  consequently  only  the 
spacious  pretext  for  an  outlay  which  exhausted  the 
treasuries  of  both  nations,  and  left  the  nobles 
impoverished  with  debt.  The  betrothal  of  the 
dauphin  and  the  Princess  Mary  was,  as  we  have 
elsewhere  stated,  solemnized ;  but  this  only  added 
another  opportunity  of  display  to  those  by  which 
it  had  been  preceded.  The  engagement  of  France 
to  pay  to  England  the  sum  of  a  million  of  crowns, 
at  a  hundred  thousand  francs  yearly,  until  the  period 
of  the  marriage,  was  ratified  ;  and  the  differences  be- 
tween England  and  Scotland  were  submitted  to  the 
arbitration  of  Madame  d'Angouleme  and  Wolsey. 

Francis  had,  however,  miscalculated  the  effect 
which  had  been  produced  upon  the  mind  of  his 
brother- monarch  during  the  three  weeks  they  had 
passed  together ;  for  he  was  not  aware  how  craftily 
Charles,  even  in  the  brief  visit  which  he  had 
recently  made  to  England,  had  worked  upon  the 
mind  of  the  cardinal -legate,  alike  through  his 
avarice  and  his  ambition.  Although  considerably 
the  senior  of  Leo  X.  in  years,  Wolsey,  accus- 
tomed to  see  all  things  bend  before  his  will,  never 
appeared  to  apprehend  that  he  might  be  outlived 
by  that  pontiff;  and  accordingly,  aware  that  from 
his  position  as  Emperor  of  Germany  Charles  must 
necessarily  exercise  considerable  influence  over  the 
petty  princes  throughout  the  empire,  he  lent  a 
greedy  ear  to  his  assurances  that  he  would  do  all 
in  his  power  to  secure  his  accession  to  the  pope- 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  365 

dom  ;  while,  as  a  guarantee  of  his  sincerity,  Charles, 
in  addition  to  many  rich  presents,  conferred  upon 
the  prelate  the  two  bishoprics  of  Badajoz  and 
Valencia,  in  Castile ;  and,  this  done,  informed  him 
of  the  uneasiness  which  he  experienced  at  the  prob- 
able effects  of  the  meeting  at  Ardres.  Wolsey, 
however,  who  well  knew  that  Henry,  in  his  love 
of  pleasure  and  display,  would  leave  all  important 
measures  in  his  own  hands,  soon  succeeded  in  re- 
lieving the  mind  of  the  emperor  of  this  apprehen- 
sion ;  and,  moreover,  induced  him  to  arrange  a 
second  interview  with  Henry  before  the  return  of 
the  latter  to  England. 

It  was,  consequently,  in  accordance  with  this 
promise  that  Charles  embarked  at  Cologne  and 
proceeded  to  Gravelines,  accompanied  by  the  Lady- 
Regent  of  the  Low  Countries,  Madame  de  Savoie, 
where  he  made  such  hasty  preparations  for  the 
reception  of  his  royal  guest  as  were  practicable, 
and  was  joined  on  the  loth  of  July  by  Henry 
VHL  and  a  portion  of  his  Court,  among  whom 
the  cardinal  was  prominent.  Neither  Madame  de 
Savoie  nor  himself  spared  care  or  flattery  in  order 
to  gain  over  both  the  legate  and  his  royal  master. 
With  the  first  they  had,  however,  little  difficulty, 
for  all  Wolsey's  dreams  were  now  full  of  the  triple 
crown ;  while  Henry  had  so  long  accustomed  him- 
self to  refer  all  state  questions  to  his  minister,  that 
he  was  soon  induced  to  violate  the  pledges  which 
he  had  given  to  the  unsuspicious  Francis,  and  to 
ally  himself  to  the  interests  of  the  emperor.     His 


366  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

vanity  was,  moreover,  flattered  by  the  assurance 
of  Charles  that  he  considered  him  to  be  entrusted 
with  the  preservation  of  the  peace  of  Europe,  and 
by  his  offer  to  accept  him  as  his  arbitrator  in  all 
differences  which  might  arise  between  himself  and 
the  French  king,  as  Francis  had  already  done. 

After  having  remained  the  guest  of  the  emperor 
and  his  aunt  during  several  days,  the  English 
monarch  urged  them  to  return  with  him  to  Calais, 
and  to  pay  a  visit  to  Queen  Katherine,  who  was 
awaiting  them  there  with  her  Court.  The  invita- 
tion was  accepted ;  and  while  Madame  de  Savoie 
used  all  her  blandishments  to  secure  the  same  in- 
fluence over  the  mind  of  the  English  queen  which 
her  imperial  relative  had  effected  over  that  of 
Henry,  Charles,  even  while  he  appeared  to  be 
entirely  engrossed  by  the  festivities  which  were 
taking  place  about  him,  was  cautiously  and  un- 
obtrusively maturing  his  plans  and  strengthen- 
ing his  interests.  Before  his  departure,  a  grand 
entertainment  took  place  in  his  honour  and  that 
of  Madame  de  Savoie,  at  which  the  whole  of  the 
two  Courts  were  to  be  present ;  and  in  order  to 
give  all  possible  brilliancy  to  the  festival,  the  king 
had  caused  a  spacious  amphitheatre  to  be  erected, 
lined  with  blue  velvet,  and  studded  with  stars  of 
silver ;  while  above  the  thrones  destined  for  the 
three  sovereigns,  and  the  fauteuil  of  the  regent,  a 
sun  of  burnished  gold  blazed  out  in  the  lustre  of 
hundreds  of  tapers  of  pink  wax,  a  moon  of  frosted 
silver  facing  the  dais  upon  which  they  were  placed. 


IS20-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  367 

By  a  curious  coincidence,  however,  the  same 
accident  occurred  to  this  building  as  to  the  ban- 
queting-pavilion  of  Francis  at  Ardres  ;  for,  just  as 
the  preparations  were  concluded,  and  the  guests 
about  to  assemble,  a  violent  tempest  overthrew  the 
whole  fabric,  and  rendered  it  of  no  avail.  The 
revellers  consoled  themselves  as  best  they  might 
for  this  disappointment ;  and  after  a  few  days  more 
had  been  consumed  in  covert  business  and  open 
pleasure,  the  sovereigns  once  more  parted ;  Henry 
returning  to  England,  and  Charles  proceeding 
through  Flanders  and  Brabant  to  Aix-la-Chapelle  ; 
where  his  coronation  as  King  of  the  Romans  and 
Emperor  of  Germany  took  place  on  the  23d  of 
October,  with  a  pomp  exceeding  any  which  had 
before  been  witnessed  upon  such  an  occasion. 

Francis,  on  removing  his  camp  from  the  Field  of 
Cloth  of  Gold,  had  hastened  to  Amboise  to  inform 
Madame  d'Angouleme  of  the  supposed  success  of  his 
expedition,  and  thence  removed  with  his  Court  to 
Romorantin  to  celebrate  the  remaining  winter  fes- 
tivities ;  when  an  accident  befell  him  on  the  evening 
of  Twelfth  Night  (152 1),  which  had  nearly  put  an 
end  to  his  existence.  Having  ascertained  that  the 
king-cake^  had  been  cut  at  the  house  of  the  Comte 
de  St.  Pol,  and  that  the  mimic  sovereign  had  been 
elected,  Francis  arranged  with  those  about  him  that 

1  It  was  the  fashion  in  France  to  cause  a  bean  to  be  concealed 
in  a  large  cake,  which  was  divided  and  distributed  among  the 
guests,  the  fortunate  finder  of  the  bean  being  declared  king  for  the 
evening,  ceremoniously  attended  whithersoever  he  went,  and  his 
commands  implicitly  obeyed. 


368  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

they  would  despatch  a  formal  defiance  to  the  hotel 
of  the  count,  and  declare  their  intention  of  doing 
battle  against  the  usuper.  The  message  was  re- 
ceived in  the  same  spirit  of  mirth  that  it  had  been 
sent ;  and  as  the  snow  lay  deep  upon  the  ground,  the 
besieged  party  lost  no  time  in  supplying  their  garri- 
son with  the  means  of  repelling  the  attack.  Im- 
mense snowballs,  eggs,  and  apples,  were  laid  in 
heaps  after  the  fashion  of  ammunition ;  and  for  a 
time,  the  assailants  being  armed  with  the  same 
missiles,  the  sport  went  gaily  on ;  but,  unfortunately, 
before  its  close,  as  the  king's  followers,  pursuing 
a  temporary  advantage,  were  about  to  force  the 
door  of  the  hotel,  some  individual  within  was  ill- 
advised  enough  to  throw  a  burning  brand  which 
he  had  snatched  from  the  hearth  through  one  of 
the  windows,  which  fell  upon  the  head  of  Francis, 
and  inflicted  a  deep  and  serious  wound. 

For  several  days  his  life  was  in  great  danger, 
and  his  surgeons  found  it  necessary  to  remove  the 
whole  of  his  hair,  of  which,  from  its  extreme  beauty 
and  luxuriance,  he  had  been  very  vain  ;  but  despite 
this  mortification  he  withstood  all  the  remonstrances 
of  his  mother,  who  was  anxious  to  punish  the 
author  of  this  misfortune,  and  would  not  permit  his 
identity  to  be  ascertained ;  declaring,  with  a  gene- 
rosity which  did  him  honour,  that  the  blow,  heavy 
as  it  was,  had  not  only  been  inflicted  in  sport, 
but  that  it  was  the  mere  effect  of  accident  which 
rendered  him  the  sufferer ;  and  reminding  her  that 
when  a  sovereign  condescended  to  engage  in  the 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  369 

pastimes  of  a  child,  like  that  child  he  must  be  con- 
tent  to  pay  the  penalty  of  his  folly. 

From  this  period  he  never  again  suffered  his  hair 
to  grow,  but  wore  it  clipped  close ;  a  fashion  which  was 
immediately  adopted  by  the  whole  of  the  courtiers. 

Despite  the  increasing  jealousy  of  Francis  and 
the  emperor,  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  was 
as  yet  anxious  to  terminate  the  peace.  Charles — 
in  addition  to  the  discontent  which  he  had  to  en- 
counter in  Spain,  where  his  subjects  had  declared 
themselves  resolved  to  support  their  political  claims 
— was,  moreover,  called  upon  to  contend  against  a 
formidable  fermentation  in  Germany,  occasioned  by 
the  rapid  progress  of  the  Lutheran  doctrines.  The 
Pope  had  fulminated  a  bull  of  excommunication 
against  the  bold  and  zealous  reformer  on  the  1 5th 
of  June  of  the  previous  year,  and  a  great  portion 
of  his  writings  had  been  condemned  as  heretical. 
Luther  had  retorted  by  publicly  burning  the  papal 
document ;  while  Charles  himself  had  no  sooner 
assumed  the  silver  crown  than  he  had,  in  his  turn, 
convoked  a  diet  of  the  empire  at  Worms,  in  order, 
as  he  declared,  "  to  occupy  himself  in  suppressing 
the  progress  of  the  new  and  dangerous  opinions 
which  disturbed  the  peace  of  Germany,  and 
threatened  to  overthrow  the  religion  of  their 
ancestors."  But,  notwithstanding  this  measure,  it 
is  not  the  less  certain  that  he  sent  an  honourable 
safe-conduct  to  Luther  and  invited  him  to  Worms, 
where  he  met  with  a  cordial  reception,  not  only 
from  the  bulk  of  the  people  but  also  from  many 

VOL.  I  24 


370  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

of  the  greatest  persons  of  the  empire ;  a  proof 
that  his  principles  had  already  planted  themselves 
deeply  in  the  public  mind.  He  was  even  per- 
mitted to  declare  and  defend  them  before  the  diet, 
which  he  did  with  a  calmness  and  courage  that 
sufficiently  demonstrated  the  righteousness  of  his 
cause ;  after  which  he  was  permitted  to  return 
under  the  protection  of  the  same  herald -at -arms  by 
whom  he  had  been  conducted  to  the  city,  although 
the  diet  saw  fit  after  his  departure  to  fulminate 
against  him  a  condemnation  declaring  him  an  out- 
law, as  being  an  excommunicated  heretic,  from  the 
consequences  of  which  severity  he  was  saved  by  the 
Elector  of  Saxony,  who  caused  him  to  be  carried 
off  by  a  party  of  men  in  masks  and  conducted  to 
the  fortress  of  Wartburg,  where  he  remained  in 
safety  for  nine  months,  although  his  friends  were 
as  ignorant  of  his  retreat  as  his  enemies. 

Francis  was  not  unaware  of  the  difficulties  with 
which  the  new  emperor  had  to  contend ;  and  satis- 
fied by  what  he  had  already  seen,  that  should 
he  be  enabled  to  adjust  them  he  must  inevitably 
become  a  dangerous  rival,  he  could  not  restrain  his 
desire  to  curtail  his  power ;  but  he  was  still  un- 
willing to  be  the  first  to  declare  an  hostility  which 
must,  as  its  first  and  inevitable  consequence,  sepa- 
rate him  for  a  time  from  the  society  of  Madame  de 
Chateaubriand,  and  exhaust  the  resources  which  he 
required  to  meet  the  more  personal  expenses  neces- 
sitated by  the  expensive  pleasures  in  which  he 
loved  to  indulge  ;  and  accordingly,  instead  of  taking 


1520-21  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  371 

high  ground,  and  meeting  his  adversary  in  a 
catholic  spirit,  he  compromised  with  his  pride  by 
subjecting  him  to  petty  annoyances  which  could 
only  ultimately  tend  to  engender  an  European  war- 
fare. 

Charles  had  doubly  falsified  his  royal  word,  first 
as  regarded  Navarre,  where  he  had  failed  to  redeem 
the  pledge  almost  voluntarily  given ;  and  secondly 
as  to  Naples,  which  kingdom  he  still  held,  without 
evincing  the  slightest  disposition   to  abandon   any 
portion  of  his  tenure ;  while  M.  de  la  Mark,  Due 
de  Gueldres,  the  old  and  faithful  ally  of  France,  who 
had    been    for    a    season    diverted  from  his  allegi- 
ance, made  loud  and  bitter  complaints  of  the  dis- 
loyalty of  the   emperor   in  neglecting  to  fulfil    his 
promises,  and   at   length  entreated  the  support  of 
France  in   his   attempt    at    self-defence.     He   con- 
sidered himself  deeply  aggrieved,  inasmuch  as  his 
right  to  the  Duchy  of  Bouillon,  which  he  inherited 
from  an  ancestor,  had  been  disputed,  and  the  Sieur 
d' Emery  had  taken  one  of  the  cities  by  force   of 
arms  without  any  remonstrance  from  Charles,  who, 
moreover,  refused  to  interfere  in  his  behalf  further 
than  by  promises  which  he  afterwards   neglected ; 
even    permitting   the    Chancellor  of   Brabant,   who 
had   been  bribed  to  that  effect,  to  declare  against 
his  claim  ;    whereupon  De   la  Mark   proceeded   to 
Sedan    and    demanded    an    audience,    wherein    he 
declared   that    if  justice    was    not   done    he    would 
abandon  the  cause  of  a  sovereign  who   had   so   ill 
repaid  his  services  during  his  election. 


372  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

The  emperor,  indignant  at  this  threat,  heightened 
the  misunderstanding  by  retorting  that  the  Due 
de  Gueldres  was  at  perfect  Hberty  to  act  as  he 
saw  fit,  his  adhesion  being  of  small  importance  to 
either  party  ;  and  Louise  de  Savoie  was  no  sooner 
informed  of  this  outbreak  than  she  wrote  an  auto- 
graph letter  to  the  discontented  noble,  inviting  him 
to  return  to  his  allegiance  to  Francis.  The  pro- 
posal was  at  once  accepted,  to  the  great  regret  of 
Madame  de  Savoie,  the  gouvernante,  who  esti- 
mated at  its  real  value  the  friendship  of  so  brave 
and  zealous  a  noble,  and  who  spared  no  exertions 
to  induce  him  to  retract  his  resolution. 

The  duke  was,  however,  firm ;  his  pride  had 
been  wounded  and  his  dignity  compromised ;  and 
he  accordingly  presented  himself  at  Romorantin, 
where  Francis  was  still  confined  by  his  wound, 
and  after  expressing  his  regret  for  his  momentary 
defalcation,  ultimately  placed  in  his  hands  not  only 
his  person  but  also  his  possessions ;  entreating  him 
to  afford  him  help,  succour,  and  assistance  to  revenge 
the  grievous  wrong  which  he  had  experienced  from 
the  emperor  ;  a  step  which  he  had  no  sooner  taken 
than  Charles,  who  became  convinced  of  his  error, 
endeavoured  to  regain  him  by  representing  that 
what  had  been  done  was  efifected  without  his 
authority,  and  that  all  might  yet  be  rectified.  But 
the  concession  came  too  late,  the  duke  had  suffered 
more  than  he  was  ready  to  forgive,  and  was  re- 
solved to  regain  by  force  what  he  had  lost  by 
fraud. 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  373 

This  was  the  last  drop  which  caused  the  French 
king's  cup  to  overflow ;  or,  perhaps,  it  was  the  first 
plausible  pretext  he  could  seize  upon  to  justify  a 
commencement  of  those  hostilities  which  he  had 
previously  deferred.  He  consequently  accepted  the 
renewed  assurances  of  fealty  proffered  by  the  duke  ; 
and  so  soon  as  the  latter  had  effected  the  recon- 
ciliation, he  sent  an  envoy  to  the  emperor — who 
was  then  at  Worms  attending  the  diet  which  he 
had  invoked  of  all  the  princes  and  delegates  from 
the  free  towns  of  Germany  to  suppress  the  doc- 
trines of  Luther — to  defy  him  before  the  assembly  ; 
a  proceeding  which,  instituted  as  it  was  by  a  sub- 
ject, was  treated  with  disdain  alike  by  Charles  and 
his  nobility. 

Nevertheless  the  duke  lost  no  time  in  following 
up  his  demonstration ;  and  the  Marquis  de  Fleu- 
ranges,  his  elder  son,  in  opposition  to  the  express 
commands  of  Francis,  levied  in  France  and  the 
neighbouring  nations  a  force  of  four  or  five  thou- 
sand infantry,  and  between  fourteen  and  fifteen 
hundred  mounted  troops,  and  besieged  Vireton,  a 
small  town  in  Luxembourg,  on  the  confines  of  Lor- 
raine. He  was  subsequently,  however,  induced  to 
raise  the  siege  and  to  disband  his  little  army  at 
the  request  of  Francis,  to  whom  Henry  VHL 
despatched  an  envoy,  entreating  him  not  to  enter 
into  hostilities  with  the  emperor,  but  to  submit  to 
his  arbitration  any  misunderstanding  which  might 
have  arisen. 

The  sovereign-pontiff  was,  meanwhile,  less  paci- 


374  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

fically  disposed  than  the  sovereigns  of  Germany, 
France,  and  England.  He  affected  to  smile  at  the 
uneasiness  evinced  by  Charles  at  the  progress  of 
the  religious  schism,  declaring  that  after  all  it  was 
a  mere  monkish  quarrel,  which  might  be  easily  and 
effectually  terminated ;  and,  anxious  only  for  the 
aggrandizement  of  the  Holy  See,  he  continued  to 
exert  his  utmost  efforts  to  weaken  the  power  of 
the  rival  monarchs  by  turning  them  against  each 
other,  although  himself  undecided  for  the  time 
whose  interests  he  should  adopt.  His  profuse  ex- 
penditure had  compelled  him  to  levy  exorbitant 
subsidies  on  all  sides ;  and  his  ultimate  ambition 
was  either  to  reunite  to  the  States  of  the  Church 
the  provinces  of  Parma  and  Placenza,  now  held  by 
the  French  as  a  portion  of  the  duchy  of  Milan,  or 
to  obtain  the  cession  of  some  part  of  the  Neapolitan 
kingdom  from  the  Spaniards. 

The  crafty  Pope  was  for  the  moment  careless  in 
which  measure  he  succeeded,  but  in  order  to  secure 
either  the  one  or  the  other,  he  commenced  a  secret 
negotiation  with  both  monarchs,  proposing  to  Charles 
to  enter  into  a  league  with  him  for  driving  the  French 
from  Italy,  on  condition  that  the  duchy  of  Milan 
should  be  restored  to  Francisco  Sforza,^  and  Parma, 
Placenza,  and  Ferrara  ceded  to  the  Holy  See  ;  and  a 
treaty  to  this  effect  was  signed  actually  between  the 
contracting  parties  on  the  8th  of  May,  while  at  the 

1  Francisco-Maria  Sforza,  the  brother  of  Maximilian,  Duke  of 
Milan,  was  restored  to  his  possessions  by  Charles  V.,  and  died  in 
1535,  without  issue.  At  his  death  the  emperor  took  possession  of 
the  duchy  of  Milan,  which  passed  to  his  own  successors. 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  375 

same  time  he  suggested  to  Francis  the  expediency 
of  their  conjointly  attacking  the  Spaniards  in  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  expelling  them  thence,  and  then 
dividing  the  country  by  attaching  all  that  portion  of 
Campania  Felix  which  extended  to  the  Garigliano 
to  the  States  of  the  Church,  and  securing  the  re- 
mainder of  the  kingdom  to  the  second  son  of  Francis, 
subject  to  the  guardianship  of  an  apostolical  legate 
until  his  majority.  In  this  proposition  he  was  equally 
successful,  and  a  second  treaty  was  signed  between 
himself  and  the  French  king,  M.  de  Lautrec  per- 
mitting six  thousand  Swiss  troops  in  the  pay  of  the 
Pope  to  traverse  the  territories  of  the  Milanese,  on 
the  understanding  that  they  were  to  be  employed  in 
the  execution  of  the  said  treaty.  Although  these 
negotiations  had  been  pursued  with  the  greatest 
secrecy,  Lautrec,  who  had  always  been  upon  bad 
terms  with  the  Court  of  Rome,  began  ere  long  to 
suspect  the  sincerity  of  the  Pope,  and  induced  Fran- 
cis, to  whom  he  communicated  his  misgivings,  to 
delay  the  ratification  of  the  league. 

Meanwhile  the  revolt  in  Spain  spread  far  and 
fast,  and  the  emperor  accused  the  French  king  of 
secretly  encouraging  these  intestine  troubles  by  shel- 
tering his  enemies.  He  also  reiterated  his  demand 
for  the  restitution  of  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  which 
he  affected  to  declare  had  descended  to  himself 
through  the  Princess  Mary,  and  had  only  been 
usurped  by  Louis  XL,  claiming  a  sovereign  right 
over  the  province,  and  declaring  that  Francis  held 
no  title  there  beyond  that  of  his  feudatory.     While, 


376  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

however,  he  put  forward  these  pretensions  he  was 
unable  to  maintain  his  authority  in  Spain ;  tumult 
and  misrule  existed  on  all  sides ;  the  jealousy  which 
subsisted  between  his  Flemish  and  his  Spanish  sub- 
jects was  daily  aggravated  by  new  outrages,  and  he 
found  his  influence  almost  at  an  end  throughout  the 
kingdom. 

Under  these  circumstances  Henri  d'Albret,  King 
of  Navarre,  began  once  more  to  indulge  the  hope  of 
recovering  his  crown.  The  disaffected  party  in 
Spain  had  applied  to  Francis  to  allow  the  young 
sovereign  to  enter  Navarre,  assuring  him  that  it 
would  prove  an  easy  conquest,  the  cardinal-gover- 
nor, Adrian,  Bishop  of  Tortosa,^  having  withdrawn 
all  the  troops  from  that  province  to  the  interior  of 
Spain.  At  the  same  time  the  Navarrese  themselves 
invited  their  legitimate  monarch  to  vindicate  his 
rights,  and  to  relieve  them  from  the  tyranny  of  an 
usurper ;  assuring  him  that  if  he  would  only  appear 
among  them,  "the  very  stones,  mountains,  and  trees 
would  take  up  arms  in  his  cause." 

Thus  Francis  was,  without  any  belligerent  de- 
monstration on  his  own  part,  suddenly  furnished 
with  a  plausible  pretext  for  indulging  his  jealousy  of 
Charles  ;  but  still,  conscious  of  the  immense  respon- 
sibility of  taking  the  initiative  in  a  war  which  might, 
before  its  conclusion,  convulse  all  Europe,  he  desired 

1  Adrian,  Bishop  of  Tortosa,  was  a  Dutchman  by  birth,  and  was 
subsequently  Pope  under  the  designation  of  Adrian  VI.  He  suc- 
ceeded Leo  X.  in  1522,  and  died  in  the  following  year.  He  had 
been  preceptor  to  Charles  V.,  and  shared  the  regency  of  Spain  with 
the  Cardinal  de  Ximenfes. 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  377 

that  the  expedition  should  be  undertaken  in  the  name 
of  Henri  d'Albret  himself,  and  that  he  should  not  be 
held  personally  responsible  for  its  results.  To  these 
terms  the  young  king,  eager  to  repossess  his  terri- 
tories, gladly  assented ;  and  an  army,  under  the 
command  of  Madame  de  Chateaubriand's  second 
brother,  the  Marquis  de  Lesparre,  who  as  a  relative 
of  the  deposed  sovereign  was  supposed  to  act  only 
in  his  name  and  by  his  authority,  was  speedily  or- 
ganized, in  which  M.  de  Guise,  the  brother  of  the 
Due  de  Lorraine,  took  the  command  of  the  lans- 
quenets. No  time  was  lost  in  marching  upon 
Navarre,  where  the  first  efforts  of  the  marquis 
proved  eminently  successful ;  and  he  proceeded 
without  any  important  check  until  he  reached  Pam- 
peluna,  where  he  was  received  with  transport  by  the 
citizens,  but  repulsed  by  the  garrison  of  the  citadel, 
which,  although  the  viceroy  had  considered  it  impos- 
sible to  march  a  sufficient  force  to  its  relief  to  ensure 
its  safety,  held  out  during  several  days,  through  the 
extraordinary  courage  of  a  young  officer,  who  in  this 
moment  of  peril  assumed  the  command  and  infused 
new  energy  into  the  failing  hearts  of  the  soldiery. 

Ignatius  Loyola,  whose  name  was  destined  to 
become  so  famous  as  the  founder  of  the  Jesuits,  was 
at  that  period  a  military  hero  ;  and  it  was  only  when 
those  over  whom  he  had  assumed  the  command 
insisted  upon  a  capitulation  that  he  was  reluctantly 
obliged  to  yield ;  but  even  then  he  could  not  be 
brought  to  consent  to  a  measure  against  which  his 
high  and  martial  spirit  revolted  until  he  obtained  the 


37^  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

consent  of  his  companions  that  he  should  be  present 
when  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  were  adjusted, 
and  he  had  no  sooner  found  that  they  were  so  arbitrary 
and  severe  as  to  involve  the  honour  of  his  cause 
than  he  abruptly  terminated  the  conference,  declar- 
ing that  he  would  rather  be  buried  under  the  ruins 
of  the  citadel  than  lend  his  countenance  to  such  a 
compromise. 

Hostilities  were  consequently  resumed  by  the 
French,  against  which  merely  individual  valour 
could  not  contend,  and  during  an  assault  which 
he  headed  in  person  Loyola  had  one  leg  broken  by 
a  cannon  shot  and  the  other  crushed  by  a  stone  from 
the  walls.  As  he  fell  the  hopes  of  his  followers  fell 
with  him  ;  they  attempted  no  further  resistance,  and 
Pampeluna  surrendered,  involving  in  its  capture  the 
whole  kingdom  of  Navarre. 

Had  Lesparre  been  as  prudent  as  he  was  bold 
he  might  have  followed  up  his  advantage  and 
secured  his  conquest ;  but,  eager  to  extend  his 
triumph,  he  was  rash  enough  to  enter  Spain,  upon 
which  the  great  nobles  of  Castile  became  alarmed, 
and,  urging  the  people  to  forego  for  a  time  their 
intestine  quarrels  in  order  to  expel  the  common 
enemy,  succeeded  in  organizing  a  powerful  force, 
with  which  they  marched  to  Logrogno,  already  in  a 
state  of  siege  through  the  headlong  impetuosity  of 
Lesparre,  attacked  his  army,  weakened  by  the  dis- 
banding of  a  portion  of  its  infantry,  which  an  ill- 
timed  economy  had  induced  him  to  dispense  with, 
under  the  impression  that  he  should  not  encounter 


E^J^ATHIUS  BE   J.(D)T(0)]LAo 


K^tj-^n^  a^  t>caA<»A/tem^ly'^!ii^^e^S'i'Ca:y 


I520-2I  FRANCIS  THE  FIRST  379 

greater  difficulties  in  Spain  than  those  which  he  had 
just  so  happily  overcome  in  Navarre ;  and,  more- 
over, rendered  less  efficient  by  a  want  of  discipline 
engendered  by  success. 

The  attack  of  the  Spaniards,  however,  infuriated 
by  the  dread  of  a  new  tyrant  in  the  person  of  the 
French  king,  who  was  even  less  bound  to  their 
national  interests  than  Charles,  and  the  fact  that 
they  came  fresh  into  the  field  against  a  body  of 
harassed  and  toilworn  men,  soon  caused  the  marquis 
to  repent  his  error.  An  engagement  ensued  which 
terminated  in  the  total  rout  of  the  French  forces, 
who  were  not  only  compelled  to  abandon  the  siege 
of  Pampeluna,  but  even  to  meet  the  enemy  a  second 
time  in  the  plain  of  Squiros,  where  their  fate  was 
decided,  and  Lesparre  himself  about  to  be  made 
prisoner,  when,  resolved  not  to  survive  a  disgrace 
he  had  so  little  apprehended,  he  abandoned  all 
further  authority  over  his  bewildered  army,  and 
spurred  his  horse  into  the  very  thickest  of  the 
enemy's  ranks  in  order  to  die  upon  the  field.  He 
was  not,  however,  fated  to  succeed  even  in  this 
melancholy  attempt ;  for  although  covered  with 
wounds,  and  with  his  casque  beaten  into  his  face 
by  a  blow  from  a  mace  which  deprived  him  of  his 
sight  for  ever,  he  was  made  captive  by  his  enemies, 
together  with  most  of  his  principal  officers,  and  thus 
again  he  was  condemned  to  feel  that  Navarre  was  lost. 

Meanwhile,  enraged  by  the  insolence  of  the  Due 
de  Gueldres,  the  emperor  despatched  the  Comte  de 
Nassau   to  invade  and  devastate  his  territories ;  a 


38o  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

command  which  was  obeyed  and  executed  with  a 
barbarity  revolting  to  every  principle  of  dignity  and 
humanity.  Both  the  emperor  and  Francis  at  this 
juncture  appealed  to  Henry  VIII.,  each  declaring 
the  other  to  be  the  aggressor,  and  calling  upon  him 
to  assist  in  avenging  their  wrongs ;  but  the  English 
king,  who  was  not  sorry  to  see  them  thus  mutually 
undermining  their  strength  without  any  exertion  on 
his  own  part,  contented  himself  by  entreating  both 
the  one  and  the  other  not  lightly  to  involve  them- 
selves in  so  serious  a  war,  and  to  leave  everything 
to  his  mediation.  As  the  two  monarchs  could  hope 
for  no  more  efficient  assistance,  they  agreed  to  this 
proposition,  and  accordingly  consented  to  open  a 
conference  at  Calais  on  the  4th  of  August,  under 
the  presidency  of  Wolsey  ;  Francis  only  demanding 
that  the  pontifical  legates  should  be  present,  who 
would,  as  he  believed  (unconscious  as  he  was  that 
Leo  X.  had  abandoned  his  interests),  compel  justice 
for  him  should  any  necessity  arise  for  their  interven- 
tion. The  French  king,  moreover,  enjoined  the 
Due  de  Gueldres  to  lay  down  his  arms  ;  a  command 
which  was  obeyed  not  because  Robert  de  la  Mark 
had  forgotten  the  wrong  which  he  had  experienced 
from  Charles,  but  because  he  believed  that  all  inten- 
tion of  hostility  towards  him  had  now  been  aban- 
doned by  the  emperor.  He,  however,  fearfully 
deceived  himself,  for  he  had  no  sooner  disbanded 
a  great  portion  of  his  army  and  rendered  himself 
defenceless  than  the  Comte  de  Nassau  pursued  his 
advantage  with  merciless  ferocity,  and  he  found  him- 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  381 

self  compelled  to  sue  for  a  truce,  which  was  granted 
because  it  served  only  to  involve  him  in  still  greater 
ruin ;  for  so  soon  as  it  expired  Charles  lost  no  time 
in  seizing  the  whole  of  his  territories,  and  in  march- 
ing a  division  of  his  army  to  the  French  frontier. 

Before  this  movement  was  effected,  however, 
Francis  had  felt  the  imperative  necessity  of  placing 
his  kingdom  in  an  efficient  state  of  defence ;  and, 
after  having  strengthened  the  frontier  of  Burgundy, 
had  turned  his  attention  to  those  of  Champagne 
and  Picardy,  which  were  totally  unguarded.  He  con- 
ferred the  government  of  the  former  upon  the  Due 
d'Alen^on,  the  husband  of  his  sister,  and  that  of 
the  latter  upon  the  Due  de  Vendome  ;  and  this 
done,  he  commanded  Admiral  Bonnivet  to  lead 
a  new  force  into  Navarre  to  avenge  the  insult 
received  by  Lesparre  ;  and  then  he  began  assid- 
uously to  recruit  and  organize  an  army  to  resist 
the  reprisals  of  the  emperor,  which  he  was  aware 
must  be  the  result  of  such  a  measure. 

Meanwhile  the  Comte  de  Nassau  had  been 
apprized  of  the  approach  of  the  Due  d'Alengon 
with  a  force  of  twenty  thousand  men,  while,  having 
passed  the  French  frontier  (despite  all  the  assevera- 
tions of  his  imperial  master  that  he  had  no  hostile 
intentions  towards  France),  he  was  laying  siege  to 
the  city  of  Mouzon ;  yet,  notwithstanding  this 
practical  illustration  of  his  insincerity,  Charles,  who 
was  then  at  Brussels,  on  learning  that  the  French 
had  in  their  turn  intruded  on  his  own  territories, 
had  the  duplicity  to  exclaim  : 


382  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

"  Thank  God  that  it  was  not  I  who  commenced 
this  war,  and  that  it  is  the  King  of  France  who 
seeks  to  aggrandize  me ;  for  in  a  short  time  I  will 
be  a  pauper  emperor,  or  he  shall  be  a  pauper  mon- 
arch." 

M.  de  Nassau  began  his  invasion  under  fortunate 
auspices,  for  Mouson  possessing  neither  provisions, 
ammunition,  nor  garrison,  was  totally  unable  to 
resist  so  formidable  an  enemy,  its  whole  armed 
force  consisting  orlly  of  a  single  company  of  infantry, 
under  the  command  of  the  Seigneur  de  Mont- 
moreau,  ^  who,  hopeless  as  was  the  contest,  declared 
that  he  would  die  within  the  walls  rather  than  sur- 
render ;  but  finding  that  neither  his  troops  nor  the 
citizens  themselves  would  make  an  effort  to  save 
the  town,  he  was  compelled  to  capitulate ;  and  after 
having  received  a  solemn  pledge  that  the  lives  of  all 
should  be  spared,  he  suffered  the  gates  to  be  opened 
and  delivered  up  the  citadel. 

During  this  time  the  Chancellor  Duprat,  the 
Marechal  de  Chabannes,  and  Jean  de  Selve  had 
reached  Calais,  where  they  were  to  meet  the  ambas- 
sadors of  the  emperor,  in  order,  through  the  media- 
tion of  Wolsey,  to  effect,  if  possible,  a  reconciliation 
between  their  two  sovereigns.  The  cardinal  was, 
however,  aware  that  Leo  X.  had  abandoned  the 
cause  of  Francis  for  that  of  Charles ;  and  not  con- 
tent with  furthering  his  own  interests  by  consulting 
those  of  the  latter,  he  even  so  far  laid  aside  all  dis- 

1  The  Seigneur  de  Montmoreau  was  Master  of  the  Horse  in  Brit- 
tany, and  Governor  of  Mouzon. 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  383 

guise  as  to  visit  him  at  Bruges  during  the  conference, 
where  he  was  received  with  the  same  state  and 
splendour  as  though  he  had  been  the  sovereign  of 
England  instead  of  its  minister ;  while  he  on  his 
part  declared  that  all  he  required  to  ascertain  was 
which  of  the  parties  had  been  the  original  aggressor, 
as  Henry  VIII.  must,  in  conformity  with  the  treaties 
into  which  he  had  entered,  declare  against  the  first 
who  had  disregarded  them.  M.  de  Chievres  was 
recently  dead,  and  had  in  his  last  moments  expressed 
his  regret  at  the  renewal  of  hostilities  ;  but  the  im- 
perial ministers,  disregarding  the  league  of  Noyon 
which  he  had  negotiated,  nevertheless  advanced 
claims  which  were  so  exorbitant  that  they  amounted 
to  a  declaration  of  war,  and  were  at  once  repulsed 
by  the  French  envoys. 

Charles  was  supported  in  these  arrogant  preten- 
sions by  a  consciousness  of  the  partiality  of  the 
mediators,  a  bias  in  his  favour  of  which  he  did  not 
fail  to  take  advantage ;  and  thus  once  more  he  was 
bold  enough  to  require  the  restitution  of  the  Duchy 
of  Burgundy,  which,  had  it  been  conceded,  would 
have  given  him  entrance  into  the  heart  of  France, 
and  to  demand  to  be  freed  from  the  homage  which 
his  ancestors  had  done  to  the  French  sovereigns  for 
Flanders  and  Artois,  and  which,  by  the  treaty  of 
Noyon,  he  had  personally  pledged  himself  to  con- 
tinue. Nothing  overt  was  consequently  accom- 
plished, but  the  crafty  cardinal  availed  himself  of  the 
opportunity  to  give  a  secret  pledge  to  the  emperor 
that  Henry  should  declare  in  his  favour  and  assist 


384  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

him  during  the  course  of  the  following  year  with  a 
force  of  forty  thousand  men.  He,  moreover,  be- 
trothed Charles  to  the  Princess  Mary,  who,  still 
being  the  only  child  of  Henry,  began  to  be  considered 
as  the  probable  heir  to  the  crown,  utterly  regardless 
of  the  fact  that  he  had  in  person  previously  performed 
the  ceremony  of  affiance  between  her  and  the  dauphin 
of  France  at  Ardres.  Charles  was  dazzled  by  the 
prospect  of  a  new  crown,  and  eagerly  entered  into 
the  arrangement,  while  Wolsey  himself  saw  in  it 
another  bond  to  knit  more  closely  his  own  interests 
and  those  of  his  imperial  ally. 

Francis  was  not  deceived  by  the  result  of  this 
conference,  but  at  once  discovered  that  he  had  been 
duped,  and  must  prepare  to  defend  himself  against 
other  enemies  than  the  emperor.  Of  the  bad  faith 
of  Henry  and  his  minister  he  no  longer  entertained 
a  doubt,  while  his  suspicion  of  the  double-dealing  of 
the  Pope  increased  from  day  to  day.  Nevertheless 
the  spirit  of  the  king  rose  with  the  difficulties  by 
which  he  saw  himself  surrounded. 

"All  the  European  sovereigns  conspire  against 
me,"  he  said  haughtily,  "but  I  shall  find  means  to 
answer  them.  I  care  little  either  for  the  emperor  or 
for  my  cousin  of  England  ;  my  frontier  of  Picardy  is 
fortified,  and  the  Flemish  are  poor  soldiers.  As  for 
Italy,  I  will  take  charge  of  that ;  while  I  pay  the 
Swiss  they  will  fight  for  me,  and  I  have  sent  to  sum- 
mon them  here  with  their  pikes." 

Among  the  most  important  places  which  were 
likely    to    be   first    attacked    by    the    enemy   was 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  385 

Mezieres,  which  many  of  the  king's  advisers  coun- 
selled him  to  burn  down,  and  by  destroying  the 
environs  to  starve  out  the  army  of  M.  de  Nassau, 
whose  supplies  would  thus  be  cut  off.  This  measure 
was  justified,  as  they  declared,  by  the  impossibility 
of  introducing  a  sufficient  garrison  within  the  walls 
before  it  was  besieged,  an  event  which  the  proximity 
of  the  imperial  troops  rendered  every  hour  probable. 
Bayard,  however,  seeing  that  Francis  hesitated  to 
sanction  so  extreme  a  measure,  seized  the  fortunate 
moment,  and  energetically  discountenanced  such  a 
proceeding. 

"  You  are  told  that  the  place  is  too  weak  to  resist. 
Sire,"  he  said  boldly ;  ''no  place  is  weak  which  is 
defended  by  brave  men.  Let  the  old  walls  stand, 
and  permit  me  to  assist  in  their  defence." 

"To  yourself  I  will  confide  the  city,"  replied 
Francis,  struck  with  the  confidence  of  the  good 
knight;  "take  with  you  whom  you  will,  and  strike 
for  the  honour  of  France  and  the  dignity  of  your 
monarch." 

Without  losing  another  instant  he  then  instructed 
the  Due  d'Alen^on  to  supply  the  little  army  of 
Bayard  with  all  that  he  might  require,  and 
despatched  M.  de  Lorge  to  provision  and  arm  the 
city,  while  the  brave  Pierre  Terrail  summoned 
about  him  all  his  chosen  comrades ;  but  as  his  name 
ever  acted  like  a  spell  upon  the  chivalry  of  France, 
he  soon  found  himself,  moreover,  surrounded  by  a 
host  of  gallant  men  who  were  anxious  to  acquire 
glory  by  fighting  at  his  side.     All  pride  of  rank  was 

VOL.  I  25 


THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF 


for  the  time  forgotten  by  these  noble  volunteers, 
and  Bayard,  with  natural  self-gratulation,  welcomed 
to  his  ranks  some  of  the  haughtiest  blood  through- 
out the  kingdom.  Among  the  first  who  presented 
themselves  were  the  Seigneur  de  Montmoreau  and 
his  lieutenant  M.  de  Boncar,  each  with  a  thousand 
lances,  and  both  eager  to  avenge  their  defeat  at 
Mouzon.  The  flower  of  the  nobility  of  Dauphiny 
followed ;  and  even  Anne  de  Montmorency,  the 
favourite  of  Francis,  did  not  disdain  to  swell  the 
list  of  his  subordinates.  The  city  was  no  longer 
defenceless ;  its  walls  bristled  with  spears,  and  its 
strength  lay  not  so  much  in  the  glittering  breast- 
pieces  which  flashed  in  the  sunlight  as  in  the  bold 
hearts  that  beat  beneath  them. 

While  the  garrison  of  M^zieres  was  thus  assem- 
bling, Francis — who  had  been  sojourning  at  Rheims, 
where  his  army  was  daily  reinforced  by  the  arrival 
both  of  horse  and  foot,  including  several  strong 
parties  of  Swiss  mercenaries — proceeded  by  Guise 
into  Cambresis,  and  on  the  2  2d  of  October  overtook 
the  forces  of  the  Comte  de  Nassau  between  Cambray 
and  Valenciennes  on  their  way  to  the  latter  city, 
where  the  imperialist  general  was  about  to  retire  for 
a  time  to  rest  and  refresh  the  troops,  who  were 
suffering  greatly  from  fatigue.  La  Tremouille  and 
Chabannes  were  eager  to  attack  the  imperialists,  and 
strongly  urged  this  measure  upon  the  king,  reminding 
him  that  the  enemy  had  still  three  leagues  to  travel 
over  the  plain  before  they  could  shelter  themselves 
behind  the  walls  of  a  fortress ;  but  Francis,  by  some 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  387 

Strange  perversity,  refused  to  listen  to  the  suggestion 
until  the  whole  of  his  army  should  have  crossed  the 
river,  and  the  thick  fog  which  then  hung  over  them 
be  dispersed.  It  was  in  vain  that  they  implored 
him  to  recant  his  resolution  ;  he  remained  firm,  and 
M.  de  Nassau  was  consequently  enabled  to  make 
good  his  escape  with  his  whole  force. 

It  is  certain,  according  to  Du  Bellay,  that  had 
the  king  authorized  the  proposed  attack  he  would 
easily  have  defeated  the  retreating  force,  and  thus 
materially  crippled  the  resources  of  the  emperor,  a 
fact  of  which  he  became  subsequently  so  conscious 
that  he  was  overwhelmed  with  grief,  and  during  the 
night  most  imprudently  departed  for  Flanders, 
attended  by  a  hundred  horse,  thus  abandoning  the 
rest  of  the  army.  '*  That  day,"  says  the  same 
chronicler,  in  a  burst  of  patriotic  grief,  "  God  had 
delivered  our  enemy  into  our  hands,  and  we  would 
not  accept  the  offering ;  a  refusal  which  has  since 
cost  us  dear." 

Bayard  was,  meanwhile,  less  supine.  He  caused 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Mezieres  who  could  not  be 
rendered  available  in  case  of  siege  to  retire  beyond 
the  walls  ;  after  which  he  demolished  the  drawbridge 
and  convoked  an  assembly  of  the  sheriffs,  whom  he 
compelled  to  make  oath  that  they  would  never  urge 
a  surrender,  but  defend  the  town  even  to  the  death. 
"And  if  our  provisions  should  fail  us,  gentlemen," 
he  said  gaily,  "  we  will  devour  our  horses  and  our 
boots." 

The  calm  confidence  of  the  good  knight  inspired 


388  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

the  citizens  with  new  courage,  and  they  all  swore  to 
perish  rather  than  capitulate.  He  then  turned  his 
attention  to  the  walls,  and  busied  himself  in  repairing 
the  old  breaches,  which  had  been  suffered  to  remain 
in  a  state  of  daily  increasing  dilapidation,  not  only 
working  himself,  but  even  distributing  among  the 
labourers  the  sum  of  six  thousand  crowns  from  his 
own  purse.  He  appeared  to  be  ubiquitous,  for 
while  one  asserted  that  he  saw  him  at  the  gate  of 
the  town,  another  declared  that  he  was  upon  the 
rampart,  while  a  third  affirmed  that  he  had  passed 
him  in  one  of  the  streets  of  the  city.  He  felt  that 
the  preservation  of  the  place  had  been  entrusted  to 
him,  and  while  he  was  indulgent  to  all  under  his 
command  he  was  inexorable  towards  himself. 

Bayard,  in  fact,  felt  a  conviction  that  not  a 
moment  must  be  lost,  and  his  prescience  had  not 
deceived  him.  The  city  was  shortly  afterwards 
invested,  and  while  Seckingen  at  the  head  of  fifteen 
thousand  men  attacked  it  on  one  bank  of  the  Meuse, 
the  Comte  de  Nassau  with  twenty  thousand  more 
threatened  it  from  the  other. 

Ere  long,  however,  a  herald -at -arms  appeared 
before  the  gates  and  summoned  Bayard  to  surrender, 
declaring  that  the  place  could  not  hold  out  against 
the  imperial  forces,  and  that,  in  consideration  of  the 
high  and  noble  chivalry  which  was  contained  within 
its  walls,  the  imperial  generals  were  reluctant  to  take 
it  by  assault,  and  thus  tarnish  his  personal  honour 
and  that  of  his  noble  companions  ;  while  they  more- 
over feared   for  the  life  of  one  like  himself,   who, 


1520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  389 

should  he  perish  defeated,  would  by  such  a  death 
efface  the  memory  of  all  his  great  and  heroic  deeds ; 
while,  on  the  contrary,  they  were  willing  to  concede 
to  him  such  honourable  terms  as  must  tend  to  satisfy 
his  self-respect. 

Bayard  with  some  difficulty  compelled  himself  to 
hear  this  harangue  to  an  end,  after  which  he  declared 
that  he  was  astounded  by  the  great  courtesy  of  the 
besieging  generals,  of  whom  he  himself  knew  noth- 
ing ;  and  then,  assuming  a  more  haughty  attitude, 
he  added:  "Friend  Herald,  return  to  your  camp 
and  tell  your  leaders  that  the  king  my  sovereign 
could  have  sent  many  more  efficient  persons  than 
myself  to  defend  his  city  and  his  frontier ;  but  that 
since  he  has  seen  fit  to  honour  me  with  the  trust,  I 
hope,  by  the  help  of  God,  to  keep  it  for  him  for  such 
a  length  of  time  that  your  masters  will  be  more 
weary  of  maintaining  the  siege  than  I  shall  be  of 
defending  my  post.  I  am  no  longer  a  child  to  be 
deluded  by  high-sounding  phrases  ;  and  therefore 
say  to  them,  moreover,  that  if  I  ever  leave  the  city 
which  has  been  confided  to  me  it  shall  be  over  a 
bridge  of  their  own  bodies  and  those  of  their  fol- 
lowers." 

This  fearless  answer  to  his  summons  exasperated 
M.  de  Nassau,  who  immediately  issued  an  order 
for  the  attack.  His  artillery  was  pointed  against 
the  walls  upon  two  separate  sides,  but  the  fire  was 
steadily  and  unceasingly  returned,  when  suddenly 
the  volunteers  who  had  been  brought  to  Mdzieres 
by    M.    de    Montmoreau,    being    inexperienced    in 


39°  THE  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

warfare,  became  panic  -  struck,  wavered,  and  fled. 
Some  of  the  French  soldiery  endeavoured  to  rally 
them,  but  Bayard  instantly  ordered  that  they  should 
be  allowed  to  escape  over  the  walls  without  molesta- 
tion. "  Let  them  go,"  he  said  calmly ;  "  we  shall 
be  stronger  without  them ;  for  cravens  such  as 
these  are  not  worthy  to  win  glory  by  the  side  of 
braver  men." 

Meanwhile  the  good  knight  became  conscious 
that  the  division  of  troops  under  Seckingen,  having 
secured  a  more  elevated  position,  harassed  his  own 
followers  more  than  those  upon  the  other  bank,  and 
he  resolved  to  have  recourse  to  stratagem  in  order 
to  induce  him  to  change  his  ground ;  a  measure 
which  he  was  the  more  anxious  to  adopt  from  the 
fact  that  his  provisions  were  rapidly  decreasing, 
and  that  his  garrison  was  beginning  to  suffer  from 
sickness. 

He  had  ascertained  from  one  of  his  emissaries 
that  altercations  had  arisen  in  the  enemy's  camp, 
where  the  Comte  de  Nassau  and  Seckingen  were 
contending  against  each  other  for  the  supreme  com- 
mand of  the  besieging  army  ;  and  in  order  to 
aggravate  this  misunderstanding  he  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  Due  de  Gueldres,  in  which  he  stated 
that,  aware  of  his  regard  for  the  Sire  de  Seckingen, 
he  had  thought  it  advisable  to  inform  him  that  if 
his  friend  did  not  speedily  shift  his  position  he  and 
all  his  camp  would  be  cut  to  pieces  within  four 
and  twenty  hours,  as  a  force  of  twelve  thousand 
Swiss  and  eight  hundred  horsemen  would  fall  upon 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  391 

him  at  dawn  ;  while  he  should  himself  make  a  sally 
from  the  town,  by  whiqh  means  he  would  be  en- 
closed, and  could  have  no  hope  of  escape ;  adding, 
moreover,  that  as  the  duke  had  assured  him  some 
months  back  that  M.  de  Seckingen  might  be  in- 
duced to  join  the  cause  of  France,  he  should  be 
glad  to  see  so  desirable  a  meaSTTre  accomplished, 
and  to  welcome  so  brave  a  soldier  to  the  banner  of 
the  lilies.  This  done,  he  committed  the  letter  to 
the  care  of  a  peasant,  to  whom  he  gave  a  crown, 
desiring  him  to  carry  it  forthwith  to  Messire  Robert 
de  la  Mark  at  Sedan,  and  to  tell  him  that  it  was 
sent  by  Captain  Bayard. 

As  a  natural  consequence  the  letter  fell  into  the 
hands  of  one  of  Seckingen's  followers,  who  forth- 
with conveyed  the  messenger  to  the  tent  of  his 
general,  when  the  partizan,  believing  that  the 
Comte  de  Nassau  meant  to  sacrifice  him,  imme- 
diately struck  his  tents  and  abandoned  the  advan- 
tageous position  which  he  had  hitherto  occupied. 
This  movement  could  not  be  effected  without 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  count,  who  instantly 
despatched  a  messenger  to  represent  to  Seckin- 
gen the  probable  effect  of  such  a  proceeding, 
endangering  as  it  did  the  total  failure  of  their 
operations  ;  but  he  received  only  a  haughty  answer. 
"Tell  M.  de  Nassau,"  was  the  reply,  "that  I  shall 
act  as  I  see  fit,  having  no  inclination  to  remain  and  be 
butchered  for  his  pleasure ;  but  that  I  shall  take  up 
my  quarters  beside  his  own,  and  we  shall  see  after 
we  have  met  who  will  remain  master  of  the  field." 


392  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

The  count,  who  after  this  message  of  defiance 
felt  persuaded  that  his  late  comrade  Seckingen  was 
in  fact  passing  the  Meuse  with  the  intention  of 
attacking  him,  drew  out  his  troops  in  order  of 
battle ;  an  attitude  which  was  immediately  imitated 
by  the  irritated  Seckingen,  and  an  engagement  was 
about  to  ensue,  when  the  assembled  officers  on 
both  sides  interfered,  and  prevented  the  collision. 
Nevertheless  the  two  generals  continued  implac- 
able ;  they  haughtily  refused  to  condescend  to  any 
explanation  ;  mutually  distrustful,  each  looked  upon 
the  other  as  a  covert  enemy,  and  on  the  following 
day  they  separately  raised  the  siege. 

During  an  entire  week  the  officers  of  Charles 
found  it  impossible  to  reconcile  the  two  adversaries, 
but  at  length  they  were  induced  to  forego  their 
quarrel ;  upon  which  Seckingen  entered  Picardy, 
burning  and  devastating  all  that  he  encountered 
on  his  way  until  he  reached  Guise,  where  he  halted, 
while  M.  de  Nassau  on  his  side  shaped  his  course 
northward,  carrying  terror  wherever  he  encamped, 
putting  to  death  such  of  his  soldiers  as  had  served 
under  his  rival,  betraying  his  suspicion  of  every 
one  about  him,  and  committing  a  thousand  acts 
of  idle  and  undiscriminating  cruelty.  His  army 
resembled  a  beleaguered  city ;  a  secret  police  was 
organized,  and  his  spies  invaded  even  the  tents 
and  private  correspondence  of  his  officers  ;  execu- 
tions were  of  daily  occurrence,  and  a  spirit  of  terror 
and  consternation  pervaded  the  whole  of  the  troops. 
The  sword  of  Damocles  hung  suspended  above  the 


IS20-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  393 

camp,  and  none  knew  upon  whose  head  it  would 
next  fall. 

During  this  panic  Bayard  had  made  a  sortie 
which  proved  highly  successful,  as  it  increased  the 
confusion  in  the  ranks  of  M.  de  Nassau,  while  at 
the  same  time  it  afforded  an  opportunity  for  a 
powerful  reinforcement  to  be  introduced  into  the 
beleaguered  city,  and  the  approach  of  M.  d'Alengon 
to  within  three  leagues  of  the  gates.  Nevertheless 
the  imperial  general,  reluctant  to  abandon  an  enter- 
prise in  which  he  had  flattered  himself  with  success, 
was  unwilling  to  raise  a  siege  until  he  could  by 
some  method  convince  himself  that  the  garrison 
were  no  longer  in  danger  of  famine  ;  upon  which 
a  veteran  captain,  an  old  companion  in  arms  of 
Bayard,  who  had  spent  his  whole  life  in  the  service 
of  the  French  in  Italy,  but  who  had  now  been 
gained  over  to  the  cause  of  the  emperor,  volun- 
teered to  despatch  a  trumpet  to  the  fortress  to 
request  a  bottle  of  wine  from  the  commandant  for 
the  sake  of  their  ancient  friendship. 

"  Tell  the  good  knight,"  he  said  to  the  messenger, 
as  he  was  preparing  to  set  forth,  ''that  it  is  for 
Captain  Gros-Jean  of  Picardy,  who  will  drink 
health  and  long  life  to  him  in  his  own  wine,  whether 
it  be  old  or  new." 

To  this  application  Bayard  replied  by  sending 
two  bottles,  one  of  each  description  named,  which 
he  caused  the  envoy  himself  to  fetch  from  the  cellar, 
where  he  showed  him  huge  casks  all  filled  ;  desiring 
him  to  assure  his  master  that  he  was  welcome  to 


394  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

repeat  the  pledge  whenever  he  needed  to  do  so, 
as  the  garrison  of  Mezieres  had  enough  and  to 
spare  during  the  time  that  the  siege  was  Hkely  to 
hold  out. 

The  envoy  returned,  and,  by  reporting  what  he 
had  seen  and  heard,  fully  convinced  M.  de  Nassau 
that  the  city  was  as  impregnable  as  ever ;  little 
suspecting  that  the  barrels  in  the  fortress  cellar  were 
merely  water- casks,  and  that  the  wine  so  freely 
given  had  been  part  of  the  lading  of  three  waggons 
which  the  French  had  only  the  previous  evening 
succeeded  in  introducing  within  the  gates. 

In  consequence  of  this  conviction  he  at  once 
struck  his  tents,  leaving  Bayard  master  of  the  city 
after  a  resistance  of  three  weeks ;  during  which 
time,  although  no  battle  had  been  fought,  the  good 
knight  had,  nevertheless,  evinced  so  much  courage 
and  military  science,  and  had  caused  so  great  a  loss 
among  the  imperial  troops,  that  Francis  at  once 
felt  he  could  no  longer  leave  such  eminent  merit 
unrecompensed,  and  forthwith  conferred  on  him  the 
collar  of  the  order  of  Philip  Augustus,  and  gave 
him  the  command  of  a  hundred  men-at-arms ;  a 
prerogative  hitherto  monopolised  by  individuals  of 
princely  rank. 

When  the  imperial  troops  had  withdrawn, 
Bayard,  who  had  no  further  occupation  within  the 
walls  whence  he  had  driven  his  assailants,  prepared 
for  his  return  to  the  royal  camp,  amid  the  shouts 
and  benedictions  of  the  citizens  whom  he  had  saved 
from    plunder   and    outrage ;    the    people    crowded 


I520-2I  FRANCIS   THE  FIRST  395 

about  him,  the  bells  of  the  churches  and  convents 
rang  out  a  joyous  peal,  and  thenceforward  the 
whole  population  of  Mezieres  religiously  observed 
with  prayer  and  festivity  the  anniversary  of  their 
deliverance. 

The  letter  in  which  Francis  announced  to  his 
mother  the  relief  of  Mezieres  was  even  more  incon- 
sequent than  a  former  one  to  which  we  have  already 
made  allusion  ;  while  not  content  with  expressing 
himself  in  terms  wholly  inconsistent  with  his  kingly 
dignity,  he  even  so  far  forgot  his  respect  for  sacred 
things  as  to  entreat  his  mother  to  cause  thanks- 
givings to  be  offered  up  to  the  Almighty,  with  the 
irreverent  addition,  ''car  sans  poynt  de  fote,  il  a 
montrd  ce  coup  quyl  est  don  Frangois."  After  so 
blasphemous  and  presumptuous  an  expression  as 
this,  our  wonder  ceases  that  there  should  have 
been  a  blight  upon  his  arms ! 

The  siege  of  Mezieres  once  happily  terminated, 
the  French  king  proceeded  in  pursuit  of  the  im- 
perial troops,  who,  baffled  in  Champagne,  were 
ravaging  Picardy,  and  spreading  terror  in  every 
direction.  The  fortresses  which  they  had  destroyed 
on  the  frontier  of  the  former  province  were  hastily 
repaired  ;  and  while  the  Due  d'Alen9on  retook 
Mouzon,  the  Due  de  Vendome  effected  an  entrance 
into  both  Artois  and  Hanault,  repaying  with  usury 
upon  the  enemy  the  enormities  of  which  they  had 
been  guilty  on  the  French  territories. 

Having  made  himself  master  of  Bapaume  and 
Landrecies,  to  the  latter  of  which  the  imperialists 


396  THE   COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  chap,  xv 

set  fire  previous  to  their  retreat,  M.  d'Alen^on 
found  his  task  accomplished ;  while  on  the  Spanish 
frontier,  Bonnivet,  towards  the  close  of  September, 
possessed  himself  of  several  fortresses  in  Biscay, 
and,  ultimately,  of  Fontarabia. 

During  these  proceedings  the  emperor  had 
joined  his  retreating  army  near  Valenciennes, 
having  with  him  a  strong  body  of  troops ;  and 
Francis  no  sooner  ascertained  that  he  was  present 
in  person  than  he  became  eager  to  attack  him.  In 
furtherance  of  this  design  he  threw  a  bridge  across 
the  Scheldtj  and  the  Comte  de  Nassau,  who  had 
advanced  to  reconnoitre,  was  only  enabled  to  escape 
with  his  followers  through  the  aid  of  a  dense  fog, 
which  had  rendered  his  approach  invisible.  Bour- 
bon, La  Palice,  and  Tremouille  vehemently  urged 
the  king  to  an  immediate  onslaught,  and  had  their 
advice  been  followed,  the  army  of  Charles  must 
have  been  destroyed ;  but  once  more  the  evil  star 
of  Francis  prevailed,  and  he  suffered  himself  to  be 
influenced  by  the  counsels  of  the  Marechal  de 
Chatillon,  who  urged  caution,  and  thus  suffered  the 
favourable  moment  to  escape. 

Nor  was  this  his  only  imprudence ;  for,  still 
strongly  prejudiced  by  his  mother  against  Bour- 
bon, he  conferred  the  command  of  the  vanguard, 
a  distinction  claimed  by  the  duke  as  Connetable  de 
France,  upon  M.  d'Alengon.  The  effect  of  this 
affront  upon  a  man  of  so  fiery  a  temperament  as 
Bourbon,  and  who  was  moreover  jealous  of  his 
honour,  was  terrible.     For  a  moment  he  remained 


1520-21  FRANCIS    THE  FIRST  397 

Stupefied  by  surprise,  and  then,  recovering  his  self- 
possession,  he  refused  to  believe  that  the  messenger 
had  not  mistaken  the  meaning  of  the  king.  "  I  am 
Connetable  de  France,"  he  said  haughtily,  "and 
by  virtue  of  that  dignity  I  have  a  right  to  lead  her 
army  to  the  field.  What  will  be  the  opinion  of 
the  troops  when  they  learn  that  my  privilege  has 
been  invaded,  and  my  authority  transferred  to  a 
general  without  experience,  and  a  soldier  who  has 
yet  even  a  name  to  win  '^.  " 

"  The  whole  army  resents  the  insult  which  is  thus 
offered  to  you,"  said  M.  de  Pomperant,  his  ancient 
governor,  "and  is  convinced  to  a  man  that  it  is 
not  the  spontaneous  act  of  the  king  himself." 

"Who  then  is  my  enemy  ?  "  he  asked  fiercely. 

"  One  upon  whom  you  cannot  revenge  yourself — 
Madame  d'Angouleme." 

"  Ah  !  is  it  so  ? "  exclaimed  the  duke.  "  But  no — 
the  thing  is  impossible.  She  has  always  professed 
herself  my  friend,  why  then  should  she  thus  assail 
my  honour  ?  Perhaps  she  covets  the  sword  of  con- 
netable for  her  minion  Bonnivet.  It  would  be  well 
bestowed  upon  an  upstart  whose  ancestors  were 
honoured  when  they  acted  as  equerries  to  mine ! 
Let  the  king  beware,  however,  how  he  seconds  such 
a  project." 

"  Duke,"  said  M.  de  Pomperant  firmly,  "  no 
subject  has  a  right  to  threaten  his  sovereign." 

"  I  shall  not  revenge  myself  by  words,"  retorted 
Bourbon  gloomily  ;  "  let  the  nerveless  husband  of 
Marguerite  de  France  lead  the  troops  of  her  brother 


398  COURT  AND  REIGN  OF  FRANCIS  I      chap,  xv 

to  battle.  The  future  is  still  before  me,  and  I  shall 
know  how  to  use  it." 

Meanwhile  Charles  V.  had  been  compelled,  as 
we  have  shown,  to  retreat  once  more  to  Valen- 
ciennes ;  the  hopes  of  the  allied  sovereigns  had 
been  falsified,  and  they  had  gained  nothing  by  the 
blood  spilt  and  the  desolation  created  by  their  arms 
save  a  few  provinces  which  they  were  not  destined 
long  to  retain. 

The  flag  of  France  once  more  waved  above  her 
fortresses  ;  and  Francis,  having  conducted  his  army 
to  Amiens,  where  he  disbanded  a  great  portion 
of  the  troops,  entered  his  capital  at  the  head  of  the 
remaining  force  amid  a  tumult  of  joyous  welcome. 


END  OF  VOL.  I 


Printed  by  R.  &  R.  Ci.ark,  Edinburgh 


n  A 


O 


f/^  fr 


JtlOlf^ 


CENTRAL  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 

DATE  DUE 

APR  2  Ij    1988 

^PR2  2  19fift 

CI  39 

UCSD  Libr. 

^■PPIWil^liPP^'^''— " 


